Sweden’sonline gambling chied on the way out

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Mar 9, 2021

 

Halstedt to depart end-March to take up new appointment as a district court judge

One of the most influential men in Swedish gambling, Lotteriinspektionen regulatory head Hakan Halstedt, departs end March in order to take up a new position as a district court judge.

In addition to his duties as regulatory chief, which he took up in 2008, Halstedt has also played an important role as a member of the government’s panel tasked with reviewing Sweden’s gambling industry and making recommendations on how it might be improved; these enquiries include the future of the Svenska Spel land and online gambling state monopoly should the local market be opened to licensing by competitive foreign operators.

Halstedt has confirmed that following his departure and the submission of the panel’s recommendations at the end of March he will have no further involvement. His successor as head of Lotteriinspektionen has yet to be announced.

Several online gambling executives have expressed the hope that Halstedt’s departure will not disrupt or delay the liberalisation process in Sweden, and have urged that his replacement be finalised and announced quickly to avoid uncertainty and preserve the momentum of moves to bring Sweden into compliance with European Commission requirements regarding online gambling in particular.

Brian Cullingworth

Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.

We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.

His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.


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