Sweden

Spelinspektionen (Swedish Gambling Authority) (SGA) ↗Regulatedsince 2019verified 2026-08

The Gambling Act (2018:1138) took effect on 1 January 2019, replacing the former state-dominated model with a licensing system open to private operators for commercial online gambling and betting. Spelinspektionen licenses and supervises operators and enforces a statutory duty of care (omsorgsplikt) to protect players. Licensed commercial gambling is taxed at 22% of gross gambling revenue (raised from 18% on 1 July 2024), and operators may offer a bonus only on the first occasion a customer gambles with them.

Tax

gross gambling revenue (stakes minus payouts, per calendar month)

22% of GGR (raised from 18% on 1 July 2024)

Applies to licensed commercial online gambling and betting; gambling for the public benefit (charitable/non-profit) is tax-exempt.

Key facts

Licence termUp to 5 years (renewable).

Regime since2019

Key-person licencesNo US-style individual occupational licence regime; instead the operator and its key persons (owners, board, senior management) undergo a suitability/fit-and-proper assessment as part of licensing.

One-bonus ruleA bonus may be offered only on the first occasion a player gambles with the operatorOne of the strictest bonus restrictions in Europe.

Duty of careStatutory omsorgsplikt to counteract excessive gamblingIncludes monitoring, intervention and mandatory deposit/loss limits for online casino.

Self-exclusionNational Spelpaus.se self-exclusion register is mandatory for all licenseesSweden's equivalent to a national self-exclusion scheme (not GAMSTOP, which is UK).

EnforcementUnlicensed operators targeting Swedish players face enforcement; Spelinspektionen also acts as AML supervisor

Licence types

Commercial online gambling licence (online casino, online bingo, etc.)Betting licence (sports and other betting)Land-based commercial gambling (restaurant casino, gaming machines)Gambling for the public benefit / non-profit lotteries (separate regime)State/monopoly licences (e.g. Svenska Spel, ATG for certain products)

Fees

Application fee - commercial online gambling + betting (combined)approx SEK 700,000Approx SEK 400,000 for a single licence category; exact fees are set in the Gambling Ordinance (2018:1475) and payable in SEK - figure should be re-checked against the official fee schedule.

Annual supervision feefrom approx SEK 264,000 per licence (2025)Ongoing regulatory fee; some categories are revenue-dependent.

Change-watch

2024

Gambling tax raised from 18% to 22% of gross gambling revenue effective 1 July 2024; industry (BOS) warned it could pressure channelisation toward unlicensed operators.

2025

Updated annual supervision fees (around SEK 264,000 per licence) applied from 1 January 2025.

2025

Continued focus on channelisation and measures against unlicensed/offshore operators targeting Swedish consumers.

Sources

Spelinspektionen (Swedish Gambling Authority) - officialspelinspektionen.se

Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) - Gambling taxskatteverket.se

Gambling Act (2018:1138) - unofficial English translationspelinspektionen.se

iGaming Business - Sweden gambling tax increase to 22%igamingbusiness.com

Not legal or tax advice. This is a teaching summary; confirm every figure against the primary regulator (Spelinspektionen (Swedish Gambling Authority)) before relying on it.

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