A persistent unlicensed gambling problem continues to hamper Sweden’s online gambling market, but a government scheme to update the country’s gambling act and close an offshore loophole has gone ominously silent.
New data suggests that, seven years on from the abolition of Sweden’s gambling monopoly and the opening of its online market to licensed operators, a meaningful segment of Swedish consumers still gamble offshore.
Research carried out by affiliate company CasinoFeber found that 18 percent of the more than 1,000 Swedish gamblers surveyed play on sites without a Swedish licence.
Asked to rank the online casino brands with which they were most familiar, four sites without a Swedish licence featured in the top 30.
The study confirms what other sources have frequently suggested, that gambling outside of the country’s regulated ecosystem continues to be a major factor.
Sweden’s unique problem
Every regulated gambling jurisdiction is in a permanent struggle with its own black market. On that front, Sweden is no exception.
However the ability for Swedish authorities to protect its regulated operators is massively hampered by a glaring loophole in its gambling law.
The wording of the country’s Gambling Act means that an operator without a licence is only acting illegally if it is clearly targeting Sweden.
That means taking steps like offering websites translated into Swedish and advertising deposits in Swedish krona.
If operators do none of these things and simply passively accept players from Sweden, they are not in violation of the law.
That leaves the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) powerless to take action against numerous gambling websites that are highly popular with consumers but have no local licence.
Government fixers go quiet
After several years of lobbying from both regulators and local operators, the Swedish government finally began to take action in 2025. It convened a review of the Gambling Act with the specific intent of closing the loophole.
After a six month review, in September 22025 the head of the Swedish Board of Consumer Complaints recommended a series of amendments to the government.
Vitally, these included updating the definition of illegal gambling.
“Instead of focusing on whether an online game is aimed at Sweden, the scope of application of the Gambling Act shall be based on a participant perspective, where the decisive question is whether persons who are in Sweden can participate in the game,” read a government press release.
The Ministry of Finance said it expected the changes to come into effect from January 1, 2027.
Since that September missive no visible progress has been made and local insiders say they are mystified about the delays.
“I am probably as surprised as anyone that the proposal for a changed scope of application has not yet been sent out for consultation, which is the first step in the political process,” said Gustaff Hoffstedt, a former member of the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) and now secretary general of online gambling trade group BOS.
Although the gambling industry has not always enjoyed broad support in Swedish politics, the proposal to help stifle the offshore sector is not seen as controversial.
“I’m surprised, since the government is likely to support the investigator’s proposal and there is no known opposition to the proposal in the Riksdag,” Hoffstedt said.
Election complications
The timeline to get these amendments in place may be tighter than it first appears. Sweden is due to go to the polls for a general election in September of this year.
Sweden is currently governed by a centre-right minority coalition, but polling data indicates that control of the Riksdag could flip to the left-wing bloc, led by the Social Democrats.
A season of feverish election campaigning does not make fertile ground for the passage of gambling act amendments and while these changes may be of central importance to the gambling industry, they are considerably more niche on the spectrum of all Swedish politics.
If the election results do go the way of current polling, there is also no guarantee that the new government will decide to continue with a project set in motion by its rivals.
All of which leaves just a scant few months for the changes to offshore gambling rules to be pushed through.
Clearly aware of the shrinking window of opportunity, another gambling trade group issued a plea this week for the government to make good on its promise.
SPER, whose members include state-owned Svenska Spel, said: “Today, people who play with unlicensed players are not covered by the strong consumer protection that applies within the licensed system.”
“We believe that the application section of the Gambling Act should be amended so that the regulation is based on a clear participant perspective.”
EEGaming contacted the Swedish government about its planned timeline for the amendments, but did not receive a reply by time of publication.
Regulator attempts enforcement
In the meantime, the SGA is attempting to swat away unlicensed operators who do stray across the line currently laid out in the Gambling Act. It has also taken action against affiliates who market unlicensed sites to Swedish audiences.
From 2023, the SGA introduced mandatory licensing for all suppliers in the gambling market.
The express purpose of this change was to require that B2B firms selling to other companies licensed in the Swedish market do not also sell the same content to those operating offshore.
The idea was to choke off the black market’s supply of premium games and platforms, but critics say its impact has been limited and its application inconsistent.
“The licensing system has hardly been a success,” Hoffstedt told EEGaming.
“The SGA has chosen to fine B2B licensees who have had their games visible, but not playable at unlicensed operators,” he said.
Meanwhile there are numerous content suppliers who continue to power websites popular with Swedish players, but act beyond the reach of Swedish authorities, he added.
“No action has been taken against unlicensed B2Bs who offer their games to unlicensed operators,” said Hoffstedt.
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