Unlicensed gambling sites continue to grow in popularity in Sweden and both officials and publications are calling for more regulations and crackdowns.
Sweden Sees More Unlicensed Online Gambling Sites
More and more Swedish players decide to use unlicensed gambling sites. According to a report from Swedish publication ATG, unlicensed gambling traffic has significantly increased tenfold in Q4 of 2024 since 2019. In addition, Similar to Q3, the channelization rate for online casinos was significantly lower than that for sports betting. ATG reported casino channelization between 59% and 74%, whereas sports betting ranged from 79% to 88%.
ATG additionally said that it discovered that 17 of the 20 largest unlicensed gambling sites use platform providers that licensed operators also utilize. This should not be allowed under Sweden’s current regulations. Furthermore, ATG also highlighted that six of these websites allowed direct deposits and withdrawals from Swedish bank accounts through BankID, a digital identification system in Sweden that enables players to access their bank accounts instantly.
Luckyjungle.com drew the most traffic during Q4 of 2024, despite entering the Swedish market just a bit over a year before. In total, 147,284 visits were reported for the period. Following that website is Unlimitcasino.com with 113,002 visits during the quarter. Refuelcasino.com comes in third place with 94,456 visits.
ATG’s CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth stated in a statement that it’s unreasonable that such a large share of gambling still takes place outside the licensing system. He also claimed that unlicensed gambling serves as a breeding ground for money laundering, but more importantly, it leaves Swedish players vulnerable to unscrupulous operators. The annual turnover of unlicensed gambling nearly equals the entire cost of the Swedish elementary school system. Finally, Skarplöth claimed that ATG will do everything it can to support the ongoing fight against unlicensed gaming companies until licensed operators hold a monopoly on gaming in Sweden.
In general, it seems that Sweden is having trouble regulating its gambling industry. In October of last year, the country’s National Audit Office (NAO) found Sweden’s Gambling Authority was insufficient to meet the expectations expressed by the Riksdag and Government in connection with the reregulation of the gambling market. In addition, the organization accused the governing body of conducting very few inspections and claimed that the selection of actors for supervision was not based on thorough risk analyses.
