The country of Sweden has re-written its online gambling regulations that came into effect on January 1, 2019. This new regulation of Sweden’s gambling market started in June of last year after the country’s parliament began to ratify laws in order to put a stop to the growing offshore market.
The application process began in August of last year, and a lot of companies already showed interest in acquiring them. The central gambling regulator in Sweden, Lotteriinspektionen, already received around 95 applications since the issuing of licences began. Over 70 of those were from the companies that are in the business of online gambling, while the minority of them includes only land-based operations.
Some of the companies to already receive a licence are well-known Nordic brands like LeoVegas, Casumo, Betsson, and Kindred Group. Joining them are international operators like GWC and Bet365, while many others like Interwetten, SuprPlay, SkillOnNet, and Tombola are in the market since the beginning of new year.
The state-owned operator Svenska Spel has received a licence for online casino and sports betting, while they also acquired a separate licence for their lottery and land-based slot machine operations.
However, this is only the beginning. More operators are expected to apply for the licence in the following weeks, both from Sweden and abroad. The legislators believe that this will be a step forward towards more regulated and tightly controlled gambling operations in Sweden that will fight the issues of illegal gambling done through offshore companies.
The Lotteriinspektionen head director Camilla Rosenberg has been happy with how quickly the new legislation was written and put into effect. She claims that the new regulation will attract a lot of bookmakers that can be a part of the Swedish market by the end of 2019, and says that January 1 is ‘a historic day for Swedish gambling’.
The bill includes many different segments, from licencing procedures, fees, and supervision, to international cooperation and the rules for responsible gambling.
As for the licencing costs, operators who wish to acquire a proper licence will have to pay 400,000 SEK (around €39,000 or $46,000), and 700,000 SEK (€69,000/$78,000) if they wish to include casino gaming and sports gambling into their offers.
