Last updated: 29 April 2026.

Markus Lindström
By Markus Lindström, Editor-in-chief · Reviewed by Anna Bergh · About the editorial team

Swedish Gambling Market 2026 — Regulation, Operators, and Recent Changes

This page is a factual overview of the Swedish gambling market in 2026, written for international journalists, analysts, and operators outside Sweden who need a clean reference. It covers the regulator, the licensing framework, market structure, debates over channelization, and the two major regulatory changes that took effect in 2025 and 2026: the closure of land-based casinos and the extended credit ban.

Sources are linked inline. The aggregate figures we cite are drawn from Spelinspektionen's quarterly reports, government propositions, and the parliamentary committee records.

Market in brief

Regulatory framework

Sweden's modern gambling regime began on 1 January 2019, when the new Gambling Act replaced the previous monopoly system. Before then, the Swedish state owned and operated casino, lottery, and betting through Svenska Spel and ATG. The 2019 reform opened the market to private operators across most verticals while introducing a license requirement and a regulator empowered to enforce compliance.

The regulator is the Swedish Gambling Authority — Spelinspektionen — based in Strängnäs. It issues licenses across categories (commercial online gambling, betting, state lotteries, charity lotteries, restaurant casinos, and software providers), conducts supervision, publishes binding decisions, and may issue warnings, sanctions, and license revocations.

The Gambling Act is supplemented by the Money Laundering Act (which applies to gambling operators), the Marketing Act (governing gambling advertising), and consumer protection legislation. Three additional Swedish authorities have parallel responsibility in the gambling space:

Market size

Sweden's regulated gambling market generates approximately 28 billion SEK in gross gaming revenue annually. The market is split roughly into commercial online gambling (about half of total), state-run gambling and lotteries (about a third), and other licensed verticals including charity lotteries and restaurant casinos.

The market saw modest decline in 2024 followed by stabilization in early 2025. Online casino in particular experienced a 0.9% decrease in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, while sports betting grew slightly. The 2026 credit ban is widely expected to apply additional downward pressure in the short term as a small group of credit-financed players exits the regulated market.

The channelization problem

The most discussed metric in Swedish gambling policy is the channelization rate — the share of total Swedish gambling activity that occurs through licensed operators. The government's stated target was originally 90%, an aggressive figure that has not been reached for online casino specifically.

Estimates of channelization differ depending on method and product category. Spelinspektionen's recent work gives a higher overall picture than some industry estimates, while online casino is generally treated as the most difficult segment to measure.

The regulator has invested in technical countermeasures including IP and payment blocks against unlicensed operators, public awareness campaigns, and enforcement actions against software providers and affiliates that direct Swedish traffic offshore. Whether these measures will close the channelization gap remains an open question.

The 2026 extended credit ban

The most consequential regulatory change of the 2020s entered into force on 1 May 2026. The original 2019 Gambling Act prohibited license-holders from offering credit themselves, but a third-party loophole remained: a player could deposit using a credit card from an unrelated bank, and operators could accept the deposit. The 2026 amendment closes this loophole. Licensed operators must now actively prevent credit-based deposits regardless of source — including credit cards, buy-now-pay-later services, and similar third-party credit instruments.

The amendment was proposed in government bill Prop. 2025/26:11 (titled "A new prohibition on gambling on credit") and the parliamentary Cultural Affairs Committee's report 2025/26:KrU3. The committee delayed the original 1 April 2026 effective date by one month to 1 May 2026 to allow operators time for technical implementation. Sweden's regulatory and enforcement coordination is split across Spelinspektionen, Finansinspektionen (the financial supervisory authority that oversees banks and payment services), and Konsumentverket.

Sweden joins the United Kingdom (which implemented a similar ban in 2020), Norway (2023), and Australia (2024) in restricting credit-financed gambling. The Swedish version is somewhat narrower than the UK's, which extends to e-wallets funded by credit. For full detail on the Swedish credit ban, see our dedicated page Kreditkortsförbud casino 2026 (in Swedish).

The end of land-based casinos

From 1999 to 2025, Sweden operated four state-run land-based casinos under the Casino Cosmopol brand: Sundsvall (opened 30 June 2001), Malmö (December 2001), Gothenburg (August 2002), and Stockholm (March 2003). They were Sweden's only legal full-scale land-based casinos.

Casino Cosmopol Sundsvall closed in 2020 due to pandemic-era losses. Gothenburg and Malmö followed in February 2024. Svenska Spel announced on 25 April 2025 that Casino Cosmopol Stockholm — the last remaining venue — was closed to guests and would not reopen, eight months before the formal effective date of legislation that, from 1 January 2026, prohibits any operator from holding a license for casino games in physical premises.

The closure was driven by two parallel forces: the parliament's decision to remove land-based casino licensing from the Gambling Act, and the operator's own commercial reality — the venues had been loss-making for years as Swedish gambling activity migrated online. About 240 staff worked at Casino Cosmopol Stockholm at the time of closure. For a full timeline and additional context, see our dedicated page Casino Cosmopol — the end of Sweden's land-based casinos.

The licensed operator landscape

Roughly 60 entities held Swedish gambling licenses as of early 2026, operating about 100 consumer-facing brands. Notable groups include:

License-holders are listed in Spelinspektionen's public register at spelinspektionen.se/licenshavare/. Spelinspektionen publishes enforcement decisions on its official website. Some decisions are appealed and later changed by courts, so always check the original decision and current legal status.

Recent enforcement trends

Recent enforcement has included large financial sanctions for anti-money-laundering, duty-of-care and other compliance failures. Because many decisions can be appealed or later changed by courts, readers should check Spelinspektionen's original decision and current legal status before citing a specific case.

Where to learn more

FAQ

Who regulates the gambling market in Sweden?

The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) is the sole regulator. It issues licenses, conducts supervision and can issue warnings, sanctions and license revocations under the Gambling Act (Spellagen, SFS 2018:1138). Aggregate market data is published quarterly.

Is online gambling legal in Sweden?

Yes, but only operators holding a Swedish license may target Swedish consumers. Operating without a license while marketing or accepting Swedish customers is unlawful. Approximately 60 license-holders run around 100 brands as of 2026.

What changed in May 2026?

On 1 May 2026, an extended credit ban entered into force. The original 2019 Gambling Act already prohibited operators from offering credit themselves, but the extension also bars them from accepting credit-based third-party payments — including credit cards and buy-now-pay-later services — for gambling stakes.

Are there any land-based casinos in Sweden?

No. Svenska Spel announced on 25 April 2025 that Casino Cosmopol Stockholm, Sweden's last full-service land-based casino, was closed to guests and would not reopen. From 1 January 2026, no operator can hold a license for casino games in physical premises. Restaurant casinos with limited table-game offerings still exist, but full-scale casino gambling is now exclusively online.

Read more: Sweden's gambling laws explained · Casino Cosmopol — end of land-based casinos · About the editorial team (Swedish)

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