Swedish ban on online poker and gambling advertising may be over

Apparently, the ban on online poker and gambling advertising in Sweden is over.

Prosecutors in the Scandinavian country were told to stop prosecuting cases against media outlets that were publishing or airing ads related to online poker and gambling from foreign sources.

According to pokerpages.com:

The order came from UC Malmo, a department of Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, according to reports by Gaming Intelligence Group. The decision arises from an appeal made on behalf of Aftonbladet and Expressen, two Swedish newspapers who were previously found guilty of breaching Sweden’s lottery laws by accepting such advertising, and who have been fighting for the past four years to appeal the court verdict.

In January, the former and present editors-in-chief of Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, Anders Gerdin and Jan Helin sent an open letter to European Commission (EC) head Charlie McCreevy, stressing how Sweden’s law did not permit free movement of trade and services relating to online gambling between the 27-member nations, particularly in the fields of poker and sports betting, as guaranteed by EU law. Following that open letter, the Swedish Court of Appeals was directed to examine the verdict. The appeals court ruled that the Swedish lottery laws were possibly in contradiction with certain articles of the European Court pact.

This news may mean online poker sites may start advertising in the country, which has generally taken a protectionist attitude against foreign online gambling and poker operations.

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