The History of Sports Betting in Sweden
Ancient legend has it that a dice game in the 11th century determined the winner of a war between Sweden and Norway. Whether this is true remains unclear, but this highlights how gambling is not something new to the country.
The following are the major milestones in the history of online gambling in Sweden, such as 1994 Lotteries Act and 1999 Casinos Act, followed by the current status.
The 1994 Lotteries Act
The Gaming Board of Sweden is empowered to grant licenses to operate lotteries, bingo, gaming machines, real money guessing games, roulette, dice and card games under this Act.
It enacted a law that prohibited advertising of foreign lotteries, and ensured that only the Swedish state or non-governmental organizations could organize lottery games. For gambling on horse racing it was necessary to have authorization from the Government.
The 1999 Casinos Act
This Act regulated casinos that operate on land and any places offering dice, roulette, cards as well as other related games. All these Swedish gambling sites were under the control of Svenska Spel which is owned by the state.
Amendment to the Lotteries Act
Sweden was a late adopter of online betting because in 2002, an amendment to the gambling act of 1994 permitted its citizens to participate in such games as well as lotteries through internet. However, Svenska Spel alone remained the authorized online wagering operator in Sweden.
Process of Re-Regulation
The Swedish government has finally buckled and relaxed the gambling laws as demanded by the EU.
Even before that, Swedish people had already been using foreign websites, leading to revenue loss. When 2018 finally ended, the $2.5 billion industry was only 30% for private companies hence the need for a solution. It is on January 1, 2019 when Gambling Act came into operation. This meant that in 2017 online gamblers could apply for permits while processing took place within the same year.
With the new arrangement, foreign operators can provide sports betting and casino games to Swedish citizens who have a set regulatory framework that allows the government to collect taxes from them, and also monitor their activities. Svenska Spel is still dominant in certain sectors such as land-based casinos. Internet sports betting, however, has been transformed into a considerably more transparent and regulated market.
Features of Sports Betting Sites in Sweden
Some prominent highlights of prevailing online gambling regulations are that it disallows anyone below 18 years from participating, prohibits extending credit to clients, secures firms against cyber threats and handle problem gambling promptly. In this country, advertising is exclusively left for licensed businesses while the gaming commission can also stop financial transactions by its residents with unlicensed sites.
The level of security and safety rendered by these platforms to Swedish gamblers is highly commendable with many different vendors now offering sports betting services. This comes as a result of the end of Svenska Spel’s monopoly allowing players to select sites that provide extensive coverage in terms of sports.