A new report from the casino guide Casino.se highlights how the Swedish gaming industry has been affected since January 2019, when the government introduced a licensing market for gambling. The report reveals, among other things, that about 50,000 Swedes have used the self-shutdown service spelpaus.se, as well as a dramatic reduction in visitor traffic to the Swedish licensed companies. In addition, criticism is directed at the government’s recent legislative proposals with additional gaming regulations, which, according to the report, risk driving players to unregulated international gambling sites.

Stockholm, May 22, 2020 – Casino.se, Sweden’s leading casino guide, today presents a new report on how the new gambling law from January 2019 has affected the Swedish gaming market and its players. The report, prepared by Casino.se together with the owner company XLMedia, highlights, among other things, changes in consumers’ gaming patterns, government revenues and expenses, as well as the growth of the private industry players, which are today part of Sweden’s regulated gaming market. The report also analyzes the future of the industry, as well as the risks associated with the government’s recent legislative proposals on lower maximum limits for deposits and bonuses, with the primary aim of countering gambling abuse during the corona crisis.

The new gambling law

The new Gaming Act from January 1, 2019, meant that Sweden was granted a licensing market for gambling, with the aim of excluding all the actors that are non-licensed and don’t pay tax in Sweden. According to Spelinspektionen, 98 companies today have active gaming licenses, where of as many as 71 are online. Among other things, the law requires that the companies on their site, clearly offer players three main opportunities to limit their gambling, in the form of the measures spelpaus.se, game limits and self-testing. The companies that do not comply with the rules risk, among other things, having their license revoked for up to two years.