Online gambling in Sweden
Background
During the early 2000s Swedish authorities took a protectionist approach to online gambling, sanctioning the local Svenska Spel online betting operation, and seeking to restrict Swedish resident access to foreign competing sites. Measures proposed in mid-2009 included ISP and payment blocking initiatives designed to make it difficult for Swedes to play with operators other than Svenska Spel.
Regulations were widely viewed as challengeable under EU law leading to a rapidly growing unlicensed online gambling market, prompting the need for regulatory reform. There was also encouragement from the European Commission (EC) for Sweden to adopting an open market approach, consistent with the EU freedom of services principles.
In 2018 Swedish government resolved to introduce new online gambling regulations that satisfied EC requirements. This led to the introduction of the new Gambling Act (Spellag) on January 1, 2019, opening the market to private operators and establishing the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) as the regulatory body.
Evolution’s Svensk Roulette with live dealers chatting in Swedish.
On 30 November 2018, the first round of licenses under Sweden’s new online gambling regulations were issued.
Current Regulations
Sweden’s current online gambling market is governed by the 2019 Gambling Act with Spelinspektionen as the regulator. Key aspects of the regulations are set out below.
- Licensing requirements: Operators must obtain a license from Spelinspektionen to offer gambling services to Swedish residents. Licenses are available for various types of gambling, including online casinos, sports betting, and lottery games. Licenses are typically granted for a period of five years and can be renewed.
- Permitted remote gambling categories: The Gambling Act permits a wide range of online gambling activities, including sports betting, casino games (slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker), bingo, and lottery games. Live dealer games are permitted.
- Responsible gambling measures: Operators are required to implement measures to promote responsible gambling, such as offering self-exclusion options through the national self-exclusion register, Spelpaus.
- Taxation: Licensed operators are subject to an 18% tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR).
- Monitoring and enforcement: Spelinspektionen conducts regular audits of licensed operators to ensure compliance with regulations and can impose fines or revoke licenses for non-compliance. It also collaborates with ISPs to actively block websites of unlicensed operators
Major Operators
Several well known online gambling brands have obtained licenses to offer remote gambling services in Sweden from their ‘.se’ websites.
- Betsson: A leading Swedish operator offering a wide range of gambling products, including sports betting, casino games (live dealer included), and poker.
- LeoVegas: LeoVegas offers a comprehensive suite of casino games (live dealer included) and sports betting. Leo Vegas also offer exclusive tables localised for the Swedish playing market.
- Unibet: Part of the Kindred Group, Unibet provides sports betting, casino games (live dealer included), bingo, and poker.
- Svenska Spel: The state-owned company continues to be a significant player in the market, offering sports betting, casino games, and lottery products.
- Mr Green: Offers a variety of online casino games and sports betting options.
- 888: Offers a wide range of casino games (live dealer included) and poker.
Best live casino for Swedish players
Players from Sweden can play the full range of leading live games at a number of locally licensed online casinos. Services (support, deposit/withdrawal methods etc) are tailored to the local market. Localised live games (dealers chatting in Swedish) are also available at the below casinos.
