Swedish FA fails in bid to restrict betting markets

Svenska Fotbollförbundets (Svff), the governing body of Swedish football, has seen its bid to have the restrictions placed on the betting markets the country’s gambling licensees can offer thrown out of court.

Svff had filed for leave to appeal a ruling issued by the Administrative Court of Linköping, only for the Administrative Court of Appeal to reject its request, upholding the original verdict.

The original challenge, filed in December 2018, saw the Svff attempt to have the process to issue betting licences halted, to order Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen to introduce new restrictions on the types of bets that companies could offer.

It argued that licensees should be blocked from offering odds on in-game events such as the number of yellow cards or corner kicks awarded in lower-division domestic football games. This, Svff claimed, would encourage match-fixing.

Spelinspektionen had argued against such a move, saying that as the country’s gambling regulatory authority it alone had the power to decide on licence restrictions. The Administrative Court, and subsequently Court of Appeals, shared the regulator’s view.