Spelinspektionen Licensed Casino Reviews

The Spelinspektionen, in English the Swedish Gambling Authority, is the regulator for all gambling activity in Sweden. The Authority operates under the Swedish Ministry of Finance and is the successor to Lotteriinspektionen, which was renamed Spelinspektionen on 1 January 2019 to reflect its expanded role under the modern Swedish gambling framework. Its remit covers commercial online gambling, sports betting, the state monopoly operator (Svenska Spel) and ATG, land based casinos, gaming machines, and lottery activity.

The primary legislation is the Swedish Gambling Act of 2018 (Spellagen, SFS 2018:1138), which entered into force on 1 January 2019 and replaced the fragmented prior framework including the 1994 Lottery Act. The 2019 reform ended the de facto state monopoly by opening commercial online gambling and sports betting to licensed private operators, while preserving state ownership of certain land based and lottery activity through Svenska Spel and ATG.

Online licence categories

Operators offering gambling to Swedish residents must hold a licence issued by Spelinspektionen. The principal licence types relevant to online operators are:

• Commercial Online Games licence. Covers online casino, slots, online table games, online bingo, and online poker.
• Betting licence. Covers sports betting, horse racing betting, and other event based wagering.
• Combined licence. A single application covering both commercial online games and betting.
• Software supplier permit. A separate authorisation required for any company supplying gambling software to a Swedish licensed operator.

Licences are issued for up to 5 years and are renewable subject to continued compliance.

Application fees and tax

One time application fees, payable in Swedish kronor, are:

• SEK 230,000 (approximately EUR 20,000) for a licence for commercial online games (kommersiellt onlinespel)
• SEK 230,000 (approximately EUR 20,000) for a licence for betting (vadhållning)
• SEK 230,000 (approximately EUR 20,000) total when both licence types are applied for at the same time (single fee)

These application fees were reduced from SEK 400,000 (per licence) to SEK 230,000 effective 1 January 2025, following a policy decision to lower entry barriers and improve channelisation. A separate software supplier permit application costs SEK 120,000.

An ongoing supervision charge is levied per licence per fee period. Under the current framework the standard supervision charge is SEK 240,000 (approximately EUR 21,000) per licence per fee period. Spelinspektionen is implementing a revised supervision fee framework under regulation SIFS 2026:1, taking effect on 1 March 2026, which adjusts the supervision fee structure to reflect operator scale and licence type.

Online betting and online casino operators are subject to a gambling tax of 22 percent on gross gaming revenue. This rate applies from 1 July 2024, raised from the previous 18 percent rate that had been in place since the 2019 re regulation. Tax is administered by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), separate from the licence supervision fee paid to Spelinspektionen.

Spelpaus national self exclusion

Operators must verify every active player against Spelpaus.se, the centralised Swedish national self exclusion register operated by Spelinspektionen. A single Spelpaus registration applies across all licensed gambling activity in Sweden, including online operators, retail betting, state lottery, and land based gaming machines. Self exclusion options include defined periods (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months) and indefinite exclusion until the user actively requests removal.

Under Spelinspektionen regulations finalised in April 2026 and taking effect on 1 August 2026, Spelpaus integration is significantly tightened. From that date, licence holders must perform real time Spelpaus checks at every login and at every deposit attempt, replacing the previous batch verification model that allowed less frequent checking. Operators must also use a unique Actor ID and API Key when accessing the register. Failure to honour a Spelpaus exclusion in real time is a serious regulatory breach.

Måttfullhet (moderation) principle in marketing

Swedish gambling marketing is governed by the principle of måttfullhet (moderation), which is set out in the Gambling Act and is one of the strictest marketing standards in any European gambling jurisdiction. Marketing must not be aggressive, urgent, or appeal to the emotional decision making of consumers, must not target minors or vulnerable persons, and must not glorify gambling or present it as a path to financial gain. Bonus offers are tightly restricted: under Section 14 c of the Act, bonus offers are limited to welcome offers presented to a player on the first occasion they play at the operator. Operator marketing is reviewed by Spelinspektionen and the Consumer Agency, with both audit and complaint based enforcement.

Credit ban and player protection tools

Under Section 14 d of the Act, operators may not extend credit to players in any form, and credit card use for gambling is restricted under updated 2026 rules. Other mandatory player protection requirements include deposit limits at the operator level, time limits, reality checks, mandatory information about gambling risk, clear access to Stödlinjen (the Swedish national gambling helpline) and other harm support resources, and segregation of player funds.

How Spelinspektionen sits in the regulated landscape

Sweden’s framework is closest to Denmark’s Spillemyndigheden, sharing the strict national-regulator approach with mandatory self-exclusion (Spelpaus in Sweden, ROFUS in Denmark) and tight marketing rules. The UK Gambling Commission operates a similarly strict regime with GAMSTOP. Many Spelinspektionen licensees also hold a Malta Gaming Authority licence for EU activity outside Sweden, or a Gibraltar Gambling Division licence for the wider European market. Swedish residents cannot legally be served by operators without a Spelinspektionen licence — offshore frameworks such as Curaçao, Kahnawà:ke, and Anjouan do not authorise Swedish-facing operations.

Why this matters

Gamblers Connect maintains this Spelinspektionen section of our Casino Directory as a licence filtered industry reference. We do not rank operators or publish “best casino” lists. Operators reviewed above are independently assessed against the Spelinspektionen public register and, where applicable, undergo Proof of Play testing and scoring under our 12 criteria Responsible Gambling Index. Editorial assessments and RGI tiers cannot be purchased or influenced by commercial relationships. Negative findings are published.