Before the regulation of the Swedish gaming market in January 2019, almost everyone played at what we now call casinos without a Swedish license.
During this period, Sweden was in a kind of borderland legally when it comes to online games such as casino or betting.
Given that the monopoly Svenska Spel was the only one with a valid Swedish gaming license, the foreign-based operators had to market themselves via the internet and various satellite-based digital channels. Most popular casino in Sweden - you find at https://www.bonuskod-casino.org/.
More remarkable, however, is that an increasing number of people have sought to return to foreign operators with a license outside Sweden. We debate in this post whether it would really be possible to forcefully reduce gambling at casinos outside the Swedish license system. Is it at all possible to drastically reduce a popular consumer product such as an online casino, which unfortunately can also be regarded as addictive?
A Definition: What does casino without a Swedish license mean?
One that does not have a license issued by the Swedish gambling authority Spelinspektionen is widely referred to as a " casino without a Swedish license ". This also includes casinos that offer their products in countries other than Sweden - both within the EU and in other parts of the world.
Common to such casinos is that they have a global license which becomes the first option for countries that have not regulated the gambling market and thus find themselves in a gray area. Often based on gambling jurisdictions such as Malta, Estonia, Curacao or Panama. Terms such as "casino without license" or "casino without gaming break" have roughly the same meaning as casino without a Swedish license. The three biggest common denominators for casinos without a Swedish license are that they lack:
– Swedish license,
– self-exclusion mechanisms such as Game Pause and
– deposit limits and game technical limitations such as second delays for slot machines
Unlicensed vs. Licensed Casinos: Differences for Individuals and Society
For the consumer, the big differences are that gambling at casinos without a Swedish license gives unlimited opportunities to deposit money; obtain more player incentives, such as bonuses and loyalty programs and to play online casino without restrictions that could affect the entertainment value.
Self-exclusion with permanent effect - such as the game mechanism Spelpaus offers - hardly exists at a casino without a Swedish license, but on the other hand there are less strict variants that can be directly applied if desired. Economically, increased gambling at foreign casinos means lower government tax revenues. From a social perspective, an assumption is that gambling addiction may increase.
The law and online gambling without a Swedish license
Playing at casinos without a Swedish license is not illegal for the consumer, it is simply a free democratic choice to choose to play online outside of the Swedish licensing system. However, it is illegal for a casino licensed outside Sweden to market itself towards the Swedish gaming market.
Such a dispute would in such case be settled in an arbitration court. But how does a gambling company become suspected of marketing offenses against the Swedish Gambling Act? In essence, we know the following about how casinos without a Swedish license must differ from licensed operators in order not to be subject to a criminal investigation:
- The operator's website must not be written in Swedish
- No Swedish customer service must be offered
- All games must be offered in currencies other than Swedish kroner
As far as the individual consumer is concerned, it can never be a crime to voluntarily and knowingly play casino from the point of view of the tax collector, it is profit tax at unlicensed casinos based outside the EU.
Spelinspektionen's expected channelization
rate According to Spelinspektionen, their goal is to reach a channelization rate of approximately 91%. In other words, they want at least nine out of ten players to play at casinos with a Swedish license. That number is far away at the moment, because there are still many Swedes who choose licensed gambling for unlicensed gambling. It is estimated that about a quarter of all Swedish casino players use casinos without a license. The government and the Swedish Gaming Authority are thus nowhere near the desired goal.
A contributing reason why the current channeling rate is so low is believed to be due to the restrictions that were partly introduced when the gambling regulation became a fact at the beginning of January 2019, as well as the additional restrictions that were added in connection with the Corona epidemic. It was in connection with the latter that the temporary gambling responsibility measures were introduced, with the aim of keeping down excessive gambling in Sweden.
In a way, the Gambling Authority succeeded in suppressing gambling; through a mandatory deposit limit of SEK 5,000 per betting company, a mandatory time limit and via bonus offers with a maximum amount of SEK 100.
Increased gambling at casinos without a Swedish license due to increased restrictions
At the time of writing (ie December 2022), the slightly tougher consumer restrictions in connection with the outbreak of Corona/Covid-19 are a thing of the past - but the Swedish gaming market seems never to be completely without restrictions. There are still mandatory deposit and time limits. The three-second rule remains and the bonus promotions are still few and low at licensed Swedish online casinos.
You still only get one – and only one – casino bonus per betting company. If the new government wants a higher degree of channelization, then it is logically required that most of the restrictions on casino online be lifted, in favor of the ultimate will of the players. The moral aspect naturally comes into play given such reasoning. Is it possible to somehow find a golden path that makes the players so satisfied that in many cases they choose foreign casinos without a Swedish license?
Of course, with respect to the gaming crowd that actually can't deal with gaming problems. If that were the case, we wouldn't have the same flight of players and implicit loss of income to the state. There is still no clear desire on the part of the Swedish Gaming Authority to in any way change the current gambling restrictions among Swedish licensed operators. Casino without a Swedish license therefore remains a growing market in contrast to the somewhat more stagnant game at licensed casinos in Sweden.
Play freely and healthy
Being able to play casino without anyone getting involved is a nice feeling. At the same time, online casino games should never go to excess. Healthy gambling is just as important to have in a foreign casino as a Swedish one. It is perhaps here that opinions diverge among many; at Swedish casinos there are always mandatory limits for deposits and bets, while foreign casinos provide optional limits in this regard.
On the one hand, there is a safety net of licensed casinos that is always there, and on the other hand, there is a constant freedom of choice for the consumer with foreign operators that is at least as appreciated. It is very difficult to say which of these poles actually contributes to healthy gaming - in the long term. We do not yet have any data to suggest that one would contribute to a greater degree to healthy gambling. Until maybe one day we know, the mix between the Swedish and foreign model feels like the ultimate mix.
Can Swedish licensed casinos be better than unlicensed casinos?
Swedish casinos are in some respects better than licensed casinos, and we are mainly talking about the safety net for problem players. Here it can be stated that Swedish gambling companies monitor the players in a completely different way than foreign gambling companies do.
The Game Pause self-exclusion tool is also very important to keep gambling down. Casinos without a Swedish license do not have an exclusion tool like Spelpaus, but they offer self-exclusion in other ways. So when we talk about player protection, unlicensed casinos can definitely improve.
Otherwise, however, there is a strong tailwind for casinos without a Swedish license. First of all, the range of games is generally much larger at foreign casinos. If you play casino, you get even more slots and live casino games thanks to more game providers. And if you play on a foreign betting site, you get even better odds. Regardless of whether you choose casino or odds games, you always have more bonuses, larger bonus amounts and constantly recurring bonus offers.
New Government 2022 – New Gambling Reforms to Expect?
After the last election last fall, it is clear that there will be a bourgeois government with the Moderates' Ulf Kristersson as sitting prime minister. Among other things, the moderates want Svenska Spel to be split into two different companies, with the part for commercial online games and betting to be sold and the lottery part to be kept.
The party is also in favor of milder bonus rules and fewer restrictions. The goal of it is to reduce the gap between Swedish and foreign casinos, where the ultimate goal is to eliminate unlicensed casinos completely. By making the products more attractive on the regulated Swedish gaming market, the degree of channeling can increase. Then it is not least required that even more restrictions be lifted, partly the most obvious ones that stop the joy of playing.
Furthermore, the player incentives should be reviewed and structured similar to how they look today at the foreign gambling companies. The most critical among these incentives are casino bonuses in the form of deposit bonuses and recurring bonuses that encourage the player to come back for more casino games. The moderates are at least open to the gambling companies themselves being able to decide on bonus structures and the designs of the loyalty programs. In that case, what the government centralises is how high the ceiling should be for the bonus mechanism.
The original view of bonuses from the Swedish Gaming Authority's side has always been that they mean a "trigger" to excessive gambling, which reflects a rather rigid bonus policy for online casinos with a Swedish license. Should proposals and reforms on new game rules go through, which also include; a form of technological method for the exclusion of unlicensed gambling companies, methods against match-fixing as well as specific permits for gambling software, it is reasonable to believe that they will come into force sometime in the first half of 2023.
Bottom Line – Improved Gaming Team Can Give New Hope!
There is no doubt that Swedish casinos have the potential to be better than unlicensed casinos, but a completely different gaming team is also needed than the one we currently have. Until it is introduced and tested, Swedes will continue to play at unlicensed casinos. And it is hardly their fault that it has become so. Rather, it is about the fact that the Swedish Gambling Authority has not succeeded in creating a regulatory framework that suits both gambling companies and players - this is precisely why both parties are dissatisfied.