National News | 2010-08-09

http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=5783

During the first six months, the four state casinos in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, and Sundsvall together reported 161 cases of suspected money laundering.

The statistics come from the Swedish Lottery Inspectorate, put together on behalf of the news agency Sirens.

The figures show that the number of complaints in relation to the number of visitors is highest at the casino in Malmö, in Sweden's most southern province. During the first half of this year 45 cases of suspected money laundering was reported.

The state casino in Sundsvall, in northern Sweden, seems to be the least troubled with this problem with only eight cases reported in the corresponding period.

The CEO of Casino Cosmopol, Per Jaldung, says that the difference in notifications is due to the difference of clients between the casinos.

”Sundsvall is typically a quieter casino where the average age also is higher," he says to news agency Siren.

John Tisell, Acting Information Director at Svenska Spel, the state owned parent company, stresses that “in the end, only the financial police will know if it's real crimes behind the reported suspicions.”

“It is important to emphasize that these are reports of suspected money laundering, and no confirmed cases," he says.

The casino in Stockholm had the most reports of suspected money laundering, with 69 cases from January to June this year. However, the number of visitors is also the largest, with between 30,000 and 40,000 each month.

The casino in Malmö has about 20,000 monthly visitors, and the one in Sundsvall nearly 15,000.

Earlier this year the Government announced that the planned new gambling law, aiming at slightly 'loosen up' the state monopoly, will be postponed until after the general election in September.