The re-regulated liberalized online gambling market is expected to go live in January 2019.
301 of the 349 seats of the Riksdagen (the Swedish parliament) voted, with 94% favoring the proposed new gambling act.
“Unregulated gambling has taken over and gambling is used in criminal activities. It is 14 years since the first of a line of gambling inquiries was appointed,” Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration said. “It is now time for us to move from words to action and regain control of the Swedish gambling market.”
Sweden will introduce a new licensing system, with a gambling tax of 18% for the operators. Despite no specifics have been published yet, it is expected that online poker operators will be able to connect Swedish players with the international network.
The regulator plans on opening the licensing system on August 1.
The new rules will end the current monopoly system in the country, where online gambling is dominated by state-owned operator Svenska Spel.
The new system is welcomed by all of the online gaming operators in the region. “It is a long-awaited decision that will create a more sustainable gaming market in Sweden. Our assessment is that the tax and the license requirements increase barriers to entry for new players, which benefits us with a world-class customer experience, efficient organization and strong brands,” - stated LeoVegas, a key player in Scandinavia.
Most of the bigger operators will likely apply for a licence.
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