Svenska Spel Educates Handball Players About Avoiding Match Fixing

Former Swedish gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, recently announced that it will be working together with Swedish Elite Football (SEF) on teaching young players about avoiding their participation in match fixing.

And now, the operator decided to expand its outreach and partner up with the Swedish Handball Federation…

…on educating handball players about the same problems regarding fixing of the matches.

More Details on the Initiative

The Swedish operator introduced this initiative last year and has until now educated various senior teams, both male and female.

So now, Svenska wants to expand its outreach to younger teams in Sweden as well, which is why it partnered up with SHF on this project.

The plan is to also teach younger teams, like the men’s under-19 and women’s both under-17 and under-19 teams.

The elaborate version of the program also includes an online education service called, ‘My Match’ which is accessible to all players via mobile phones and computers

“It is important that we within the handball market take the issue of gambling seriously and that we start with preventive work at an early age,” SHF secretary general, Robert Wedberg, said.

A Word from Svenska Spel Officials

“As a partner to the SHF and the Swedish National Sports Association, it is important for us that the issue of match-fixing is highlighted and that both young and adult athletes receive education.

“Fixed matches are devastating for sport and as the sport’s biggest sponsor in Sweden, we will never give up the fight against match-fixing,” Dan Korhonen, product manager and head of sports betting commented.

Educating Football Youth

The move comes after Spel last week also ed forces with Swedish Elite Football (SEF) on teaching young players about avoiding their participation in match fixing.

The company wants to teach young Swedish football players that integrity is the most important thing…

…and that cheating is never the answer to get fast money.

The main plan is to educate players during The Gothia Cup, which is a famous Swedish annual youth football tournament.

“As a young player you probably have not reflected so much around match fixing; you play football because it’s fun. By highlighting the issue early on, we hope to prevent future match fixing,” Anders Wikström, a former player, commented on this collaboration.

Violating Gambling Ad Rules

A month ago, the Swedish operator was accused of violating market rules by other licensed operators in the state.

Spel was reported to the national gambling regulator because it was advertising the company’s products without including the message about responsible gaming…

…which is imperative according to the nation’s advertising rules.

The trade group for Sweden’s licensed iGaming operators called, Branschföreningen för onlinespel, filed a complaint against Spel to the Granskningsnämnden media regulator.

BOS representatives said that the company was promoting its products like Triss, Keno, and Lotto during morning shows on the TV without including a single word about responsible gambling.

Source:

“Svenska Spel expands anti-match-fixing efforts in handball”, igamingbusiness.com, June 10, 2019.