Online gambling has become popular in all parts of the world. People simply love to test their luck from the comfort of their room and make their free time more entertaining. The Swedish market is one of those that have managed to make progress for a relatively short period. For those who do not know, the first licenses in Sweden were issued in 2019. Since then, a lot of gambling brands have gotten licenses and offered a diversity of games to Swedish casino enthusiasts.
Yet, things are becoming turbulent in the iGaming section because of the latest laws and regulations. The newest changes will certainly impact both casino companies and players. Some people believe the newest changes are great, while others think they are too strict. We would like to discuss this topic on this page. We will let you decide on your own whether these gambling laws are a good decision or not. Let’s go!
Latest Gambling Laws Changes in Sweden
The purpose of gambling laws is to protect both players and casino businesses. All the casinos that want to work legally in the Swedish market will need to apply for a license. The license in Sweden is issued by the so-called Swedish Gaming Authority. This regulatory body got approval from the government to issue the license to all the businesses that meet the specific set of requirements.
Logically, the latest decision that the government is slowly announcing day by day will impact the way online casinos work. At the same time, it will also impact gamblers, particularly those interested in online roulette, and make their gambling sessions slightly different. Here are the top 3 changes everyone in Sweden (as well as people traveling there) must be aware of!
Increased Taxes
One of the reasons Sweden approved the legalization of this industry is the improvement of the national economy. Many residents of this lovely country have shown interest in online gambling. Such a demand should not surprise anyone since there are many benefits of online gambling that land-based casinos can’t offer. Financial and economic experts have realized that casino taxes can be another source of income for the national budget.
It turned out that such a decision was actually good. During the pandemic, a lot of people decide to stay at home and use the online world to entertain themselves. Online casinos have managed to gain huge popularity during that period. Logically, their revenue jumped, which automatically represented a new source of income for the country. Back then, the government decided to tax 18% of casino income, which was a rule that casino operators have easily accepted.
With the latest law changes, the tax will be 22% of gross gaming revenue. Such a requirement will start to be applicable on July 1, 2024. The government gave a clear statement on why the officials had decided to make such a change. In the beginning, they wanted to give the market the chance to grow. Now, from their point of view, the gambling market is stabilized enough. Based on the government’s calculations, this decision will ensure around 45 million Euros each year for the national budget. In a crisis moment, this seems like a legitimate decision, doesn’t it?
Yet not everyone agrees with that. The Online Gaming Industry Association is deeply disappointed by such a decision. They think that the government does not understand the needs of the gambling market in Sweden. iGaming experts even claim that the entire market will reach the channelization minimum they had before the regulations were applied in 2019. We are yet to see what will happen here.
Stricter Licensing Requirements
In 2018, 16 gambling brands got a license from the Swedish Gambling Authority. They were valid from January 1, 2019, which is considered to be the date of the online gambling revolution in Sweden. It is important to highlight that the Swedish Gambling Authority is the only valid regulatory body that has approval from the government to issue licenses.
The license confirms the legacy and legality of any casino site in Sweden. This regulatory body controls and maintains casino gaming, poker, bingo, sports betting, fantasy betting, and certain types of lotteries. Currently, this authority can provide six different types of licenses, and some of the crucial ones are Licenses for land-based commercial gambling, licenses for commercial online gambling, licenses for betting, licenses for gambling on ships and so on.
So, how does the licensing process work? First, online casinos must fill out the application form, which requires them to provide details on their business. For example, they need to provide Annex A and B documents, business plans, financial documentation, company registration certificates and so on. Then, they need to provide the results of independent testing that confirm the casino’s complete randomness.
Additional requirements for gambling brands need to be met. The casino’s owner must not have any criminal records in the past and should not have been involved in any financial scandals. Also, the person behind the casino must have knowledge and expertise within the industry. Finally, the casino brand must participate in different responsible gambling actions to ensure the complete safety of the players.
Generally speaking, licensing requirements are getting stricter day by day. Most people are positive about this fact since they want to gamble in safe conditions. Plus, a more regulated market will only attract new casino brands around the globe, which will improve the overall offering and meet the expectations of every Swedish player.
Ultimately, the Swedish government announced additional anti-money laundry actions, which makes the entire process of issuing licenses even stricter.
Player Protection Measures
Despite the improvement of the national budget, Swedish officials have focused on the safety of the players. Even if the casino site is safe and proves the complete randomness of the games, the safety of each player is not 100% guaranteed. We won’t hide the consequences that online gambling can bring. Everyone is aware of that, including SGA and the Swedish Government.
That is why new measures for player protection are announced. Before these laws were upgraded, casinos had the obligation to verify the identity of each individual. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that underage users do not participate in casino games. Also, online casinos have an obligation to allow players to self-exclude themselves from the website in case they recognize the symptoms of addiction.
The latest regulations are not directly connected with the protection of players. Yet, they do promote responsible gambling and protect each registered player. Believe it or not, Sweden will ban credit cards for gambling. Officials believe that remaining self-controlled when gambling when there is a chance to deposit cash with credit cards is impossible (or risky). Sweden Gambling Authority believes that this type of decision will prevent gambling for money from leading to indebtedness.
What is the Future of Online Gambling in Sweden?
The latest gambling laws will certainly impact the overall gambling market in Sweden. Generally speaking, many casinos are unsatisfied with new tax obligations. For many of them, the tax of 22% represents a big trouble, and they believe that the gambling market won’t continue to grow the way it used to. On the other hand, the government believes the market will remain stable even with the higher tax rates. The new obligation may reduce the quality and quantity of bonuses that online casinos can offer to players. Yet, this is just our opinion; it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.
On the other hand, regulated markets attract new business players. We believe that new brands are going to come to Sweden and offer new roulette, blackjack and slot games. There are no insights that the popularity growth of this form of entertainment will stop among people. Besides, the gross revenue of the gambling industry was 16.8 billion SEK even before the regulations became official in 2018.
Generally speaking, roulette enthusiasts don’t have to worry a lot. Their only concern should be finding a licensed Swedish online casino, making a budget plan and respecting the plans they made. There will still be a huge number of roulette variants available across different gambling platforms. Even with the strict gambling regulations, we are pretty sure that new casino brands will continue to come. That means you will have more opportunities to play your favorite game.
Conclusion
The gambling market constantly grows around the world. The same trend is present in Sweden. Because of the new trends, people now have new requirements and expectations. On the other hand, it is completely normal that regulations change from time to time. Every government looks for a new way to generate revenue that will positively impact the national budget and ensure better standards within the country. Indeed, a lot of casinos are unsatisfied with tax rate increments, but we are sure they will manage to adapt their business plans and continue offering the best possible services.
Despite problematic tax changes, new licensing requirements and player protection measures probably won’t disturb players. It may happen that licenses won’t be valid for 5 years (as they used to be) and that casinos may need to reapply for it more often. Yet, if they work legally, this won’t be a big problem. On the other hand, the protection of players is in everyone’s interest. That’s why we are positive about these changes!