Swedish online casinos for Real Money

Sweden has never had a problem with land-based gambling. Brick-and-mortar gambling has been legal in Sweden since 1934. However, when the country decided to overhaul its gambling laws (predominantly to deal with online gambling), a new piece of legislation was enacted. The Gambling Act of 2019 ensures that it is legal for Swedes to bet on all types of land-based gambling games, from casino gaming to sports betting, lottery, bingo games and more.

Land-based casinos are the property of Casino Cosmopol, a sort of monopoly if you will. Lottery and betting are run by Svenska Spel. At the same time, horse racing and other types of sports betting options are run by Stryktipset and Svensk Galopp, with the latter a part of the Swedish Horseracing Authority. Sports betting authorities are still run by Svenska Spel, though.

Online gambling was legalised in 2002, but it wasn’t until 2019 that Sweden decided to regulate the industry. Initially, online gambling was only made available to companies affiliated with Svenska Spel. However, this angered the European Union, so Sweden gave way and eventually allowed online gambling operators based offshore to apply for a gambling license, too.

Swedes are permitted to play at any internet betting site that has obtained a gambling license from the Swedish Gambling Authority. However, Sweden doesn’t block access to sites that are not licensed. Swedes won’t be punished for playing at these sites, but the authorities do try to crack down on those sites via financial punishments. As a result, many major brands (which haven’t obtained a gambling license from the authorities) will choose to block access to their own sites to Swedes. Fortunately, there are over a hundred major brands and operators licensed in Sweden, so Swedes can play at seemingly most top-tier casinos and sportsbooks.

The Swedish Gambling Authority (known as Spelinspektionen) has jurisdiction to offer licenses to any operators who want to cater to the Swedish market. There are six different licenses in all. One of these is reserved for Svenska Spiel, namely for lottery and land-based casino games. The second is available for non-profit gambling games. Casino licenses for slot halls and entertainment values, and cruise ships are alternatives while betting licenses are required for sportsbooks and bookmakers, and an online casino license is available for operators who wish to offer this service to Swedes.

The Swedish Gambling Authority is heavily modelled on the UK Gambling Commission and works in largely the same way. For instance, Swedes must sign in using BankID (as a form of verification) and are subject to strict betting limits. A host of responsible gambling tools can be found at casinos, and these are required to obtain a license. Similarly, gambling advertising is limited in the Nordic nation.

Swedes love to gamble on sports, arguably more so than casino games. However, slots are also a big hit with the Scandinavian bettors. Some of the biggest online casino winnings in Europe have come from Sweden. Oddly enough, table games and live dealer titles don’t seem to have found the same sort of popularity in Sweden.

Sweden is home to many, dare say most, of the world’s leading, top-tier casino software providers. NetEnt is arguably the most famous of these providers. However, Play ‘n Go, Yggdrasil Gaming and many more also come from the Scandinavian country. You can still play plenty of games from other providers, too.

Sweden is home to some of the world’s most popular top-tier operators and brands. We’re not just talking about foreign operators that are licensed in the country. Sites such as LeoVegas, Unibet and co. originate in the Scandinavian country. Dozens of offshore operators are also licensed out of Sweden. As touched on, Swedish players must use BankID to play, and that stops foreign players from accessing Swedish sites.

Most of the major sites licensed in Sweden also have international domains, though. Foreign players can easily sign up at these equivalents. Offshore casinos (not licensed in Sweden) usually block access to Swedes, but there are plenty that still accept them. These may even offer gameplay in Swedish and accept the Swedish krona as their currency of choice. However, there’s little reason for Swedes to join these sites as there is an ample selection of Spelinspektionen-licensed sites to choose from. As touched on, many of these are amongst the best sites out there.