Online gambling company ComeOn Group has decided to cease the operation of two of its Sweden-facing brands as it does not agree with the Government’s plans to put further limits on online casino bonuses and deposits.
Earlier this week, ComeOn released information to its marketing affiliate partners that it made a decision to shut down operations of two of its Swedish-licensed brands – Cherrycasino.com and Sveacasino.com. Both websites are set to no longer offer their services “in Sweden only”. Besides, the online gambling operator revealed that it had voluntarily given up from the operating licenses issued by Spelinkspektionen, the country’s regulatory body of the gambling sector.
The two Sweden-licensed websites have already stopped accepting new customer registrations and deposits. The owner of the brands has further revealed that all existing accounts on the two websites are set to become inactive as of May 18th. The gambling company suggested that local players who have accounts on Cherrycasino.com and Sveacasino.com choose another one of its many brands that are remaining operational in Sweden, such as Mobilautomaten, Hajper and Snabbare.
The regulator of the Swedish gambling sector – Spelinspektionen – is expected yet to bring some more changes to its list of online gambling license holders to reflect the reduced brand presence of ComeOn in the country. Yesterday, the gambling watchdog revealed that a new online gambling license was officially given to Alea Ltd, with the company planning to operate in the country under its Slottmillion brand.
ComeOn Group Online Gambling Brands Facing Difficulties in Sweden
Lahcene Merzoug, chief executive officer of ComeOn Group, was one of the seven online gambling companies’ officials whose names were added earlier this week to a public letter calling for Sweden’s Social Security Minister to support plans regarding new weekly limits on web-based gambling deposits and bonuses.
As CasinoGamesPro reported at the time, the Swedish Government has revealed some plans aimed at reduction of problem gambling activity at the time of social isolation and coronavirus lockdown. Operations, however, have claimed that such a move would only push customers to offshore online gambling sites that operate as an alternative to some Swedish-facing brands.
The ComeOn Group brands that are available to Swedish customers have not had the easiest time in the country since the local Government officially gave the green light to the regulated online gambling market in January 2019.
At the time when the regulated online gambling in the country officially started work, Cherry’s brands received two-year operating licenses rather than the standard ones that usually have a five-year term. The shorter duration of the license was preferred by the competent authorities due to cited “uncertainty about the organization”. The decision was taken to the administrative court by Cherry but the court rejected the appeal in October 2019.
In October last year, the advertising ombudsman of Sweden upheld a complaint against the Hajper brand because the business was proven to have used a superhero mascot on a poster that could be found particularly appealing to children. Previously, in August 2019, Spelinspektionen also punished ComeOn, Snabbare and Hajper for advertising that could make their services attractive to individuals under 19 years of age.
For the time being, ComeOn’s Cherry brand is the largest advertising spender among gambling companies that are licensed in Sweden, even after it had already significantly reduced its marketing spending over the last few months.
