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Sweden to privatize gambling industry

As per a report from Reuters, Sweden’s government has proposed a move to transition from a state gambling monopoly to a privately-run online casino sector. The reason for the shift is that Sweden is having a hard time cracking down on offshore online casinos that offer games to its citizens. The legislation reportedly seeks an 18 percent tax on licensed online gaming operators.

“The now proposed gambling legislation means that anyone active in the Swedish gambling market should do so with a valid license and that actors without licenses will be shut out,” a government statement said. The bill would still permit the state’s brick-and-mortar casino monopoly to remain intact.

There are only four land-based casinos in Sweden i.e. in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, and Sundsvall. The casinos are established and operated by Svenska Spel’s wholly owned subsidiary Casino Cosmopol AB, under a permit granted by the Swedish government. The restaurant casinos, operated by hotels and restaurants, consisting of around 600 tables in 500 different locations.

Bingo halls are operated by public interest associations, under licenses issued from the county administrative board.

Gambling machines can be found in both restaurants and bingo halls and are operated by Svenska Spel, who has a permit for a maximum of 7,000 gambling machines in restaurants and hotels, and 500 machines in bingo halls.

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