Svenska Spel’s Sport & Casino iGaming subsidiary has decided to cease offering odds on the Division 2 Sodra Svealand football league until further notice.
The company’s decision was taken as a result of suspicious betting activity around several matches in the division, which led to a request from the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) to suspend betting on the league.
The step was taken by the governing body following integrity monitoring partners having revealed that as many as 13 matches in the division were suspected to have been rigged during the spring season. The country’s gambling regulator Spelinpsektionen was asked to implement a blanket ban on offering odds on the league for all licensees in the market.
Hakan Sjostrand, the Secretary General of SvFF, commented that the situation that has risen is so serious that they are unfortunately forced to take action to suspend the betting markets to safeguard the integrity of the league and prevent manipulation for the rest of the season.
Spelinspektionen has not yet decided whether or not to implement the blanket ban requested by the SvFF, but Svenska Spel has moved to suspend betting on the league.
Svenska Spel’s Head of Sports betting and gaming security, said that they work daily to ensure that the gaming products they offer their customers are free from manipulation.
Korhonen also said that in discussions with the Football Associations, they have expressed their concerns about Division 2 Sodra Svealand, as the number of matches under suspicion is so high that the integrity of the whole league can be questioned. He added that they see no other solution than stopping all betting on the league.