Sweden

Sweden – Gambling & Everything Else

Gambling has been included in Sweden’s history since the year 200. However, the first casino called Casino Ramlosa Brunn opened during the 18^th century. It offered several games like roulette, faro, and basset which was widely popular to Swedes. Unfortunately, the church called gambling a diabolic action which caused the authorities to ban gambling in the 1800s.

Not long after, lottery businesses were legalized by the government and launched Penninglotteriet lottery in 1897. 50 years later, they legalized slot machines, sweepstakes and many more. Finally in 1999, the first gambling establishment was eventually opened by the parliament. It ended the long wait for the gambling enthusiasts in the country.

Sweden Casino & Gambling

Four casinos are in Sweden and all of them are managed by the government-owned Cosmopol Company. The state originally planned to open six casinos but opted to only four. All of the casinos are located in key cities around Sweden. They are in Sundsvall, Malmö, Gothenburg, and Stockholm, hence their names.

Cosmopol Sundsvall Casino was the first casino launched in the country in 2001 with 15 gaming tables and 140 slot machines. The second one is named Casino Cosmopol Malmo with 26 gaming tables and 260 slot machines. It was opened in December 2001and is located in the middle of Kungsparken.

The third one was opened in August of 2002 with 343 slot machines and 26 tables. Casino Cosmopol Goteborg is a bit different from the three as it has a Poker room with 17 poker tables. Casino Cosmopolis Stockholm was opened in 2003 in a building that used to be a night club and dance bar. It has 36 gaming tables and 399 slot machines.

Gambling has been monopolized by the government since the opening of Svenska Spel in 1997. It was formed through the merger of Penninglotteriet and Tipstjänst which are both state-owned companies. Their subsidiary Casino Cosmopol then operated the four state-owned casinos. All the surplus of the companies are paid to Sweden’s public treasury.

Sweden Online Gambling Laws

Aside from the land-based casinos, Svenska Spel has monopolized online gambling until the Swedish gambling reform was brought in on January 2019. The reform opened the gambling market to private-owned companies as well as regulating them to prevent players from frauds and danger.

Online gambling is widely popular in Sweden because there are only four land-based casinos to choose from. Through online casino, players can enjoy gambling in the comfort of their homes. Recently, online gambling has been gaining popularity among Scandinavian countries. As one of the countries with lowest poverty rates in the world, foreign providers are immensely interested in putting up gambling sites in Sweden.

The Swedish gambling reform act aimed to regulate the gambling market in Sweden, and to protect the players from gambling fraud and other criminal activities previously related to unregulated gambling. Although it has paved way for foreign or private companies to start their gambling business in Sweden, it also requires them to obtain license from the Swedish Gambling Authority.

According to the press release of Sweden’s Ministry of Finance, the gambling market will be divided into different sections. The first one will be the competitive sector where online gambling and betting will fall. While lotteries and bingo will be in the non-profit sector, and one for the government owned casinos, as well as gambling using the token machines.

All sectors that will require licensing are going to be taxed at 18 percent while the non-profit gambling will still be tax exempted. The winnings of players will also be taxed if it is from the unlicensed gambling websites. However, the press release has not stated if those from the licensed sites will be taxed or not.

Payment Methods in Sweden