Swedish Gambling Market Takes Another Hit Two Online Brands Closed by ComeOn Group – GamblingNews.com

ComeOn Group has announced the shutdown of two brands for the Swedish market. Cherrycasino.com and Sveacasino.com will close on May 18.

The online casino saga in Sweden continues. This time, ComeOn Group is shutting down two of its licenses in the country as a protest towards the countrys restrictive measures planned to come into effect on June 1. The operator has announced that the brands Cherrycasino.com and Sveacasino.com will be shut down only in Sweden.

The sites will be shut down on May 18 but the brands have already stopped accepting new sign-ups or deposits. Player accounts are also going to be closed by that date. ComeOn Group recommended consumers to check the other available ComeOn/Cherry brands which are still available in Sweden, such as Snabbare, Hajper and Mobilautomaten. Due to the planned shutdown, the countrys regulator, Spelinspektionen, will need to update its online licenses list.

The latest shut down operations is not the first challenge for the ComeOn/Cherry brands. Back in January 2019, when the brand just entered the market, Cherry received a license for duration of only two years. For example, most licenses are for a five-year period, but Cherry was deemed as an uncertain organization, thus resulting in the short-term license. Then Cherry went to an administrative court in order to appeal this decision. In October 2019, the appeal was rejected.

Other ComeOn brands also suffered from Swedens authorities. Hajper received a penalty last year after the countrys ombudsman took issue with the company cartoon mascot which was displayed on a poster. Spelinspektionen applied a penalty on ComeOn, Hajper and Snabbare under the pretext that sports betting was offered to players which were under 19 years old.

Earlier this week, ComeOn Group CEO Lahcene Merzoug joined the petition organized by the countrys operator association Branscheforenigen for Onlinespel (BOS). The petition disapproves the restrictive measures proposed in April by Social Security Minister Ardalan Shekarabi.

The restrictions, planned to be implemented on June 1 include a time limit and deposit restrictions for online gamblers. So far, twelve operators running business in Sweden have joined, which according to BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt represents nearly half of the Swedish online gambling market.

The main concern that the petition is raising is that if such restrictive measures are applied, many consumers will turn to online unregulated markets. Such occurrence can be devastating for the gambling industry as well as the countrys economy, BOS fears.

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Swedish Gambling Market Takes Another Hit Two Online Brands Closed by ComeOn Group - GamblingNews.com