Sweden’s gambling inspectorate Spelinspektionen will support a special government inquiry examining consumer credit and concerns of public over-indebtedness. 

Announced last week, the Swedish government has commissioned an inquiry seeking to provide “measures to reduce predatory lending and counteract over-indebtedness amongst consumers”.

The Swedish government stated that it held concerns at the excessive promotion of credit services, providing facilities to take out loans or defer payments.  

The inquiry will be led by Kathrin Flossing, chair of the Defense Intelligence Court and former director of the Riksdag, who will be charged with examining Sweden’s consumer credit market and safeguards.

In her remit, Flossing will review how credit providers measure customer affordability, current controls on providing credit to indebted customers and whether consumers have measures to secure better repayment conditions.

Sweden’s credit inquiry has been taken in parallel with the European Union’s latest revision of its Consumer Credit Directive (CCD), which will examine new credit services by Fintech providers and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) schemes.

Spelinspektionen issued a statement, outlining its support for the inquiry, as “vital to maintaining a safe gambling market with the strongest consumer protections”

“Against this background, the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate welcomes the Government’s decision to now appoint an inquiry to look more closely at these issues.” – read Spelinspektionen’s statement.

“We see that an improved credit assessment in Sweden can have great significance for those consumers who risk ending up in over-indebtedness and addiction due to gambling.”