Sweden requires written confirmation for gambling sold by telephone
From 1 June 2024, gambling contracts started by an operator's phone call are valid only if the consumer accepts a written offer after the call.
By Oliwer Brewitz, Head of Marketing
Key changes
- Written offer and written acceptance required for gambling contracts started by operator phone calls
- Contracts not formed in writing are invalid and the consumer does not have to pay
- Callers must state identity, purpose and name at the start of the call
- Legal basis for processing player data under the duty of care
- Higher maximum AML sanction fees for gambling operators
What changed
Amendments to the Gambling Act (spellagen, 2018:1138), proposed in Government Bill 2023/24:53 and dealt with in Committee on Cultural Affairs report 2023/24:KrU9, took effect on 1 June 2024. The committee moved the start date from the 1 April 2024 the government had proposed. When a licence holder calls a consumer to sell gambling, it must state its identity, the purpose of the call and the caller's name at the start. It must then confirm any offer in writing or another durable form, and a contract is formed only when the consumer accepts that offer in writing after the call. A contract not formed this way is invalid and the consumer owes nothing for the gambling. The same package lets licence holders process player-profile, self-reported health and financial data to meet their duty of care, and raises the maximum anti-money-laundering sanction fee to the highest of 10% of turnover, twice the profit from the breach, or EUR 1 million.
What it means for advertising
Outbound telemarketing for gambling now carries a formal written-acceptance step, which makes phone campaigns slower and less likely to convert on the call itself. Display, video/CTV and DOOH are not directly affected. The new data-processing rights relate to the duty of care rather than marketing, but they are likely to give operators better information for excluding at-risk players from targeted campaigns.
What operators should do
Update telesales scripts so the opening statement covers identity, purpose and caller name. Build a written offer and acceptance flow that runs after the call, and include the required notice that contracts made otherwise are invalid. Check that CRM rules stop any gambling from being credited before written acceptance. Review the data used for duty-of-care monitoring against the new legal basis.
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