A regulatory investigation into the Swedish Postcode Association has closed without further action, but the association is not out of the woods yet.
The Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Inspectorate, began investigating the Postcode Association’s marketing methods around lottery ticket telephone sales earlier this year.
On top of this, the Swedish Consumer Agency has also been investigating the association, including sending it three letters outlining its assessment that its marketing had been ‘aggressive’, contravening Sweden’s Marketing Act.
The Spelinspektionen has been taking on a junior role in the investigation, with the Swedish Consumer Agency holding the main regulatory responsibility for companies’ compliance with marketing requirements.
It is therefore waiting on the Consumer Agency’s lead to progress with its own regulatory enforcement action. The Consumer Agency has, in turn, referred the matter to the country’s Consumer ombudsman.
While the Spelinspektionen is not taking any action at this time, it may do so if the KO determines that the Swedish Postcode Association violated the Marketing Act at any point. Throughout the investigation the Postcode Association has denied any wrongdoing.
Lotteries are quite big business in Sweden, according to the Spelinspektionen’s data. In 2024, turnover from state lotteries – run by the Svenska Spel operator – and slot machines was SEK 6bn (£446,000), while total lotteries turnover stood at SEK 4bn.
The Swedish Postcode Association’s lottery is one of the biggest actors in the private lottery sector in Sweden. Its lottery is run twice weekly as a counterpart to its TV game show, Postcode Millionaire.
The investigation into the Postcode Association shows how despite lotteries being widely recognised as a low risk form of gambling the marketing requirements around these products can be just as strict as with sports betting and casinos.
This is not just the case in Sweden but also in other countries, though lotteries do often enjoy more favourable regulations than betting and casinos. In the UK, for example, the formula for determining penalties against society lotteries for regulatory infractions is different to other gaming firms.