'Nordic Chill' By Eugene Gerden
The government of Sweden, the largest country in the Nordic region and its major economic engine – plans to significantly tighten control for the activities of gambling operators in the domestic market. As part of this plan, the national government intends to expand the scope of the existing Gaming Act. This is the industry’s main enabling act. It pays particular attention to the fight with illegal and unlicensed operators, and it aims to attract foreign operators to register within the jurisdiction of the country.
The Gaming Act was introduced in Sweden in 2019, along with a licensing system that allowed commercial companies to offer online gambling to the Swedish market. An important aim was to ensure that gambling would take place under public control. The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) was given responsibility for supervising the industry.
However, in recent years the established SGA has become a subject of criticism from the Swedish government. This is mainly due to the inefficiency of its activities and serious shortcomings. That forced the state to tighten existing regulations.
“We will stop illegal gambling companies that exploit vulnerable consumers. We will do this by amending the Gambling Act so that it becomes more appropriate. This is one of the most important measures for a safer and healthier gambling market,” stated Minister of Financial Markets Niklas Wykman.
An Evolving Industry
In fact, according to the Dagens Vimmerby business paper, the Swedish casino market has undergone major changes in recent years. From previously being dominated by state-owned players, such as Svenska Spel and ATG, the market has now been opened up to international competition. This has led to an explosion of new Swedish casinos and gaming companies, offering their services to Swedish players. A significant part of them, however, are located overseas and do not accord with Swedish gambling legislation.
In this regard, part of the plan of the SGA is to design additional measures that will help to attract foreign casino and gambling operators. The hope is for them to expand in the country’s market by receiving licenses for the Swedish market. In accordance with official state statistics, up to 30 percent of Swedes still play on gambling sites licensed abroad or on unlicensed casinos. This is mainly due to the larger bonuses and promotions which are offered to them on foreign platforms. Swedish-licensed gaming companies cannot match that, as they are only allowed to offer one bonus per player and it needs to be moderate.
A Growing Market, Too
At present the Swedish gambling market continues to grow, both in terms of revenue and number of active players. This is in line with the trend, which has been seen in recent years, whereby digitalization of gaming – especially in online casinos and sports betting – has been driven by technological advances and an increasing acceptance of gambling as a popular leisure activity.
In recent years the level of competition in the Swedish gambling sector has significantly tightened. The most intensive competition is between licensed operators and foreign ones licensed in countries such as Malta, Estonia and Curaçao. These jurisdictions offer significantly lower tax rates and, according to many, more adequately regulate gaming licenses compared to Sweden.
Pausing Play
An important part of the Swedish licensed gambling market is Spelpaus. This a national self-exclusion service that allows players to exclude themselves from all licensed gambling for a set period of time. Spelpaus has been a central part of Sweden's strategy to combat excessive gambling. The service has been used by over 115,000 players, indicating a clear need for such measures.
But despite Spelpaus and other similar initiatives, a significant proportion of players remain on unlicensed sites. This is partly because Spelpaus does not cover foreign operators, meaning that players who have been banned in Sweden can still play on sites outside the country. This creates a paradox wherein measures intended to protect players may instead contribute to increased use of unlicensed platforms.
To address the challenges, the Swedish government has considered various strategies, including tightening payment-blocking rules against foreign operators and improving channelization targets by making the Swedish market more competitive. However, since it is legal for Swedish players to use foreign services, a careful balance between regulation and consumer attraction is required.
First Movers
A part of the state’s plan is also the creation of conditions for more-active introduction of various technologies and technical innovations in the gambling sector of the country. This is despite the fact that many Swedish casinos are already now at the forefront of adopting new technology. In addition, Swedish players are often early adopters of innovations such as VR casinos and blockchain technology.
While online casinos are growing, state-owned Casino Cosmopol has been struggling. Recently, Svenska Spel, the Swedish state-owned gambling operator, announced plans to close its casinos in Malmö and Gothenburg due to declining profitability. More and more people are choosing to play online instead of visiting physical casinos.
Despite the challenges, the future looks bright for the Swedish casino market. Demand for gaming and entertainment remains strong and technological developments are creating new opportunities. At the same time, responsible gaming and gaming protection will remain important issues for both gaming companies and regulators.
*** This article was originally published in October 2025 edition of Casino Life Magazine Issue 181***
