Swedish Gambling Market Continues Growth

Swedish Gambling Market Continues Growth ( Click to Enlarge )

Swedish gambling market experiences unprecedented growth

Regulation Does Not Halt Growth

Regulatory processes for Sweden’s online gaming businesses are underway, as government officials seek to regulate the country’s gambling industry.

Online casinos have operated without regulation for the past 15 years, but despite the move to create legislation governing such companies, the Swedish Gambling Authority has recently reported that the industry has continued to witness unprecedented growth.

Lotteriinspektionen, the body responsible for regulation, revealed that the online gambling economy had surged by 3% in 2018, and the total market was now worth in the region of $600 million.

An Unusual Gaming Market

Sweden does not have traditional gambling, and the government has regulated casinos for decades.

However, the same rules don’t apply to online casinos – despite a ban on online gambling! In reality, online casinos have operated with importunity within Sweden for years, with many firms even going so far as to advertise on television.

At present, there is one company in the country which holds a monopoly on online casino games.

The new regulations look set to change this, as the government seeks to diversify the industry by allowing multiple companies to receive licenses. However, these changes will also guarantee that each company will be required to pay tax on their revenues.

Increase In Online Casino Gambling

In just three years, the online gambling market has grown by 16%.

At the same time, the market for land-based casinos has fallen by 8% year-on-year in the same period.

Experts have offered up many reasons for the shrinking of brick-and-mortar casinos – declining tourism in the country may have played a role, and the convenience of playing on-the-move or from the comfort of home may have led many traditional casino gamblers to take their habits online.

Bringing Casino Operators Back To Sweden

Before the legislation, much of Sweden’s online casinos operated outside of the country, from the confines of loophole areas like the Isle of Man and Gibraltar.

The government decision means that companies will now be able to operate from within the confines of their own country, with much of the revenues from online casinos earmarked to pay for social welfare causes such as free education, national health care and tackling unemployment. Online gambling companies are expected to pay 18% tax on revenues.

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