Three B2B companies have received gaming supplier licences from Sweden’s Spelinspektionen under a recently introduced framework.

The five-year licences have been granted in advance of July 1, when the regulator will require all providers that want to do business with operators in Sweden to hold a licence of this type. As of July 1, 2023, Programutvecklarna I Norrk?ping AB, Skill On Net, and Synot Games will hold the first Swedish licences for gaming providers. The licences are valid for a five-year starting duration.

Further applications will be accepted starting on March 1. According to Spelinspektionen, ‘around 60 applications’ have already been received and are being evaluated. By the end of November of the previous year, the legislature decided to enact licencing requirements for suppliers.

After receiving parliamentary support, the change, which included B2B licences under the current Swedish Gambling Act, was approved by the Ministry of Finance (Finansdepartementet), one of the most prominent ministries on Swedish gaming legislation.

In its latest update, the regulator explained that “the purpose of introducing the requirement is to increase channeling and thereby discourage illegal gambling. Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install and/or change game software for game operators who have a licence in Sweden.”

Following a B2B licensing consultation that commenced in May 2022, companies were informed that new requirements would be implemented for all online gaming software suppliers and game developers. Spelinspektionen is currently on track to roll out its B2B licensing framework, with March and July 2023 earmarked as the most likely start dates. In November, proposed requirements included a B2B license fee of SEK 120,000 (€11,000/￡9,600) and an increase in the renewal fee from SEK 300,000 to SEK 600,000 (€55,300/￡48,100).