Kingdom of Sweden
Sweden re-regulated its gambling market on 1 January 2019 under the Gambling Act (2018:1138), replacing an offshore-dominated grey market with a licensed competitive sector overseen by the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen). Operators serving Swedish players need a licence, split principally between commercial online gambling (casino, bingo and slots) and betting, and a state and non-profit monopoly is retained for lotteries and certain land-based products. Since 1 July 2023 suppliers of gambling software have needed their own B2B licence, which extended the regulatory perimeter from operators to the supply chain. The model is built around a small number of hard rules rather than broad discretion. Licensees may offer a player only one bonus, at the start of the relationship, which removes reload and retention offers as a competitive tool. Marketing must meet a statutory moderation standard, and all licensees must connect to Spelpaus, the national self-exclusion register, which blocks both play and direct marketing across every licensed site at once. The commercial sector pays gambling tax of 22% of gross gaming revenue, raised from the 18% rate set at re-regulation. Channelisation, meaning the share of play that stays with licensed operators, remains the measure by which the Swedish model is judged.
Swedish Gambling Act (2018:1138)
Spellagen (2018:1138)
Commercial online gambling licence
Betting licence
Figures on this record are analyst estimates, not official regulator data.
The central policy question in Sweden remains channelisation: keeping players inside the licensed system as duty-of-care, bonus and advertising rules tighten. Watch enforcement against unlicensed operators, payment- and access-blocking measures, and any further adjustment to the gambling-tax rate.
The government has commissioned a special investigator to map gambling among children and young adults, review operators' marketing on both the licensed and unlicensed markets, and propose new protections, with a report due by 29 February 2028. The health minister says risky gambling among young men has doubled in a few years and one in five is affected.
Spelinspektionen wants to replace guidance with binding duty-of-care requirements. BOS says the regulator has not asked what the cumulative friction does to the licensed market it is trying to protect.
Spelinspektionen's preliminary Q2 figures put licensed turnover at SEK7.4bn. The headline growth rate understates what is happening in the commercial online segment, which grew at above 7%.
Candle Lake offered SEK 695 a share for a stock trading at SEK 824.20, and told the market it is not trying to buy the company. The board agreed, and said so. Kenneth Dart keeps 30% either way.
An unsolicited cash offer pitched at a 5.7% discount to Evolution's most recent close has put one of iGaming's largest B2B suppliers in play, raising immediate questions about deal rationale, regulatory approvals across multiple jurisdictions, and the future of Evolution's product roadmap.
Betsson has finalised its acquisition of Rhino Entertainment Group for €64.5 million, the company said, strengthening its position in the Canadian market as the Swedish operator continues to expand its North American footprint.
Evolution has walked away from its roughly $85 million takeover of Galaxy Gaming after two gaming regulatory approvals failed to arrive by the deadline, triggering a $5.23 million termination fee payable within two business days.
A Swedish court has torn up Spelinspektionen's SEK8 million fine against LeoVegas's Roar Vegas, ruling the regulator never proved a duty-of-care breach. Coming weeks after the Svenska Spel reversal, it signals that Sweden's responsible-gambling enforcement model may be unenforceable until the rules are rewritten.
ATG reports a dip in 2025 profits to SEK 2.099 billion as CEO Hans Lord Skarplöth departs; the operator warns that Sweden's increased gambling tax is now directly undermining the financing of the horse racing industry.
Spelinspektionen
ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)
iGaming Business
Spelinspektionen