Sweden
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Sweden is a highly regulated gambling market with provisions deriving from the new Gambling Act enacted by the Swedish Parliament in 2018. Effective since Jan 1, 2019, the Gambling Act provides the legal framework for all games based on luck, offline and online.
Sweden jurisdiction is governed by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) on principles of…
…favorable conditions for operations on competitive market terms with strict consumer protection and gambling addiction prevention.
Legal Framework
The gambling market is divided into three segments:
- Online gambling and betting
- Lotteries and land-based bingo
- Land-based casinos and token machines
All segments except the last one are open to operators’ competition. The operators can apply for licenses provided they oblige to protect players from excessive gambling and practice the duty of care.
Any suitable company that presents the knowledge, experience, and organization required to operate the business in accordance with the laws and regulations shall be awarded the license from SGA.
Becoming the licensed iGaming operators in Sweden they shall adhere to certain default operational settings:
- All players under the age of 18 are forbidden from gambling and betting
- Marketing activities have to be moderate and to realistically reflect the possibility of winning
- A tax of 18% on the profit generated in the country (gambling that has a public benefit is tax-free)
While the unofficial English translation of SGA guidelines and general advice provide directions, we glance at its stipulations in this overview for aspiring players looking to understand and embrace the Gambling Act.
iGaming Standards
The essence of Sweden jurisdiction is strong player protection exercised through high levels of transparency, accountability, and safety in every segment of iGaming ecosystem. Operators are to meet these criteria and provide those attributes to players throughout the full spectrum of activities.
In any given time for the duration of the license, an online gambling operator has to be able to provide reportable information to SGA about:
- Player ID (KYC standard)
- Duration of login session (start, end, confirmation time)
- Player equipment
- All relevant financial data such as total number of bets, winnings paid, deposits and withdrawals, including player’s balance at the end
- Reasons for termination of session and interruption of games
- Software version identification for games played
An operator is also to provide the player with full access to information about account’s balance, gambling history (transactions in the form of bets, winnings, and losses), and financial data (deposits, payments, and any other transaction).
In other words…
…all transactions that player make must be registered.
In terms of games, the instructions must be complete, unambiguous and non-deceptive. Rules must be available without placing a bet, on the same medium as the game.
Operators must possess documented quality assurance about the configuration of payout tables. The accrediting body of SGA is to inspect, test, and certificate correction of payout tables.
Operators are to represent a documented reference to a well-established algorithm and any procedure of random number generator (RNG) including calculations and recalculations, standard deviations, probability distributions, and such. Operators are also to provide full documentation about source code quality and code testing procedures.
Just by glancing through key features of Swedish jurisdiction, it is easy to realize that there is no end to the length the SGA is ready to go when it comes to creating a transparent business, accountable operations, and safe environment in online gambling.
Players Protection
If you thought this is the end of Swedish jurisdiction emphasis on guarding the players — not so fast. To further compound it, the GMA devised a number of responsible gambling measures.
A bonus may be offered by a license holder only on the first gambling occasion.
New players signing up to licensed casinos will receive one bonus on their first deposit, and that’s it. There are no more second or third one, nor daily specials or the loyalty points’ accumulation for cash bonuses and free spins. Additionally, no tournaments or cashbacks can be promoted.
(In effect, this is a good tactic to stimulate casino variety side of the jurisdiction. To find and join a new casino at regular intervals becomes more interesting to players than before.)
Then there is in-game responsibility.
All choices must be optional, providing the player with:
- The possibility to change its min
- Reasonable time to consider the choice and consequences
- Be informed about factors beyond control (e.g. use of automation or add-ons for auto-features)
Also, information on the probability of winning the game is to be easily accessible.
Back-end-wise, the gambling system must be able to detect and prevent players from playing against themselves. The system must counteract any criminal acts in violations of the terms, such as fraud, cheating, collusion, and such.
Operators may deactivate one or more players in such cases. Speaking of deactivation, the gambling system is to be able to register faulty games and disable them too.
Beside monitoring players’ gambling habits and observing their protection from excessive gambling, operators provide self-exclusion option to players (similar like in the UK). Since this is an important responsible gambling measure, the players can exclude themselves temporarily or permanently.
During the self-exclusion period, operators cannot target the player with marketing messages.
From 1 July 2020 regulations state that there should be a 5,000 SEK weekly Deposit Limit and 100 SEK maximum in Welcome Bonuses with 60 days to deposit and a further 60 days to wager.
Aurora Gamblealis
What might appear as an overwhelming regulation may turn out to be a highly progressive jurisdiction. not surprising at all, considering the overall progressiveness of Sweden society. It appears that SGA strives to:
- Empower the players to be in the best possible position to win, protected
- Fully utilize advances of information technology and payment methods
- Enable the best operators to enjoy consequential market shares
- Create the gambling community that is conscious, responsible and mature
- Sustain the upgraded market, now hosting a number of recognized iGaming operators, through improved overseeing operations.
To top it all off Sweden is leading the mainstream charge of cryptocurrency adoption. In fact, Stockholm has been unofficially widely touted as soon-to-be crypto capital of Europe.
With that in mind, one might argue that it’s only a matter of time before iGaming and virtual currency meet with each other in Sweden jurisdiction.
We can only salute such efforts with admiration and respect.
In the end, they all lead to the same place, towards the state of ultimate iGaming experience.
Choose below from our list of best online casinos in Sweden and give yourself a transparent and safe try in an accountable gambling environment.
Casinos found: 82
Guts Casino
15/04/16
100% up to €100
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Betsson Casino
09/08/16
100% up to €100 + 100 Spins
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Mr Green Casino
09/08/16
100 Spins
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100% up to €100
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100% up to €100 + 100 Spins
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100 Spins
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20 Spins
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11 Spins
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£100 + 50 Spins
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100% up to РСД20000 + 50 Spins
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100% up to €/$500 + 50 Spins