GAMING LICENSE IN SWEDEN

On 7 June 2018, the Swedish Parliament voted in favour of the bill and therefore the new Swedish Gambling Act and the Swedish Gambling Tax Act came into force on 1 January 2019, as previously proposed in the bill. Licence applications will be accepted after 1 August 2018.

The purpose of the new Gambling Act is to regulate the gambling market and enhance the protection of gamblers. The national monopoly on gambling will be abolished and instead the entire gambling market will be divided into three sectors; the competitive sector, which includes online gambling and betting as well as the sector for public purposes and the sector reserved for the Swedish state.

The new rules consist of a number of conditions and a licensing system. In addition, a tax on winnings of 18% will be introduced.

Den som vill tillhandahålla speltjänster på den svenska marknaden är endast skyldig att göra det under en licens och spelbolag utan svensk licens som riktar sig till den svenska marknaden är juridiskt ansvariga. Reglerna gäller för alla spel som presenteras i Sverige, inklusive onlinespel som riktar sig till den svenska marknaden. Reglerna gäller inte salonspel, fritidsspel och dataspel. Dessutom gäller reglerna inte för spel som kräver vissa färdigheter från spelaren.

Types of licences

There are six different types of licences that gambling suppliers can apply for and some of these require special conditions:

• Commercial online games;
• Bets;
• Commercial games based on gambling establishments;
• Gambling on ships in international waters;
• Gambling reserved for the state;
• The games are reserved for public purposes.
• According to the rules of gambling, an application for a licence must be submitted in writing and in Swedish. When granting licences for online gaming, an important factor is access to technical staff who can provide a safe gaming environment for customers.

The licence is granted for a fixed term of not more than 5 years and the gaming authority must specify in its decision which games are covered by the licence. When the licence expires, the Licensee will be able to obtain a new licence, provided that the requirements are still met.

Gaming licence in sweden

A licensee can be either a legal entity or an individual. Licensees who are registered outside the EEA (European Economic Area) must appoint a representative or an authorised person to act for the Licensee in all matters relating to the licensed business. The representative of the owner must be a resident of Sweden.

The Licensee must obtain a certificate from an accredited testing facility, which confirms that the technical equipment that the applicant intends to use meets the prescribed requirements. The cost of the test varies and depends on how extensive the applicant's gaming system is, for which types of games it is submitted and which institution conducts the test. The estimated cost ranges from approximately EUR 5000 to 35 000. In addition, licensing and supervision fees as well as excise duties are paid.

Types of licenses and their cost

It is important to note that each type of licence regulates individual and specific activities. This allows Swedish regulators to control the gambling industry and to apply clear requirements for each individual class of gambling activity with regard to business conditions, tax penalties, payment of licence fees and so on.

Online commercial games and betting

For example, a licence for commercial online games and a betting licence will cost SEK 400,000, with a total licence of 700,000 for both types. Updating and changing the licence for all three types of licences will cost owners SEK 300 thousand and SEK 150 thousand respectively.

Lottery and bingo licences

A separate type of licensing is a public lottery and a lottery in public places. According to the rules of the regulator, a third class licence is issued if the total amount from ticket sales is up to 5 million. The cost of such a license is 60 thousand crowns. If the number of tickets sold is between 5 and 15 million, the owner receives a second class licence and the licence fee is 75 thousand kroons. A first class licence is a sale of tickets exceeding 15 million profit and the price of the licence is doubled to 150 thousand kroons. Also, if the owner wants to increase the class of the licence to a more advanced class, it will cost 40,000 kroons to replace one permit with another.

At the same time, a bingo license in Sweden, which is quite a popular type of gambling, will cost 30,000 Swedish kroons. It will cost the owner of the business a modest SEK 5,000 to restore, renew or change the licence.

Horse racing, slot machines and casinos

Riding horses is one of the most exciting games in Europe. Despite its low popularity in Europe, this type of gambling has a special place in Sweden. The owner has to pay 3,500 Swedish kronor for its activities. According to the rules of registration, licenses are not changed and the fee for renewal is the same 3,500 in Swedish currency.

Slot machines and slot machines are also a very inexpensive but very well developing type of gambling business in Sweden. The cost of installing such devices will be 3,600 kroons, and the licence fee will be even lower at 2,800 kroons. Thanks to these low prices, the owners of the gaming halls with automatic machines will make good profits.

At the same time, activities such as casinos are worth noting as highly liquid businesses. Regulators offer several license options for each individual case of gambling activity. For example, the cost of a licence for those casinos that are commercial will not exceed 3,600 kroons.

However, permanent casino gaming halls already fall under a separate type of licence. The cost of a licence for casinos and gaming establishments of this type will already be 70 thousand kroons. Changing or granting a licence for such activities will cost the owner SEK 15,000.

The Swedish regulators also classify such activity as card games in the form of tournaments as a separate type of licence. There are three types of permits, which give the right to conduct gambling business. The first type of licence covers up to 10 card tournaments and the cost is 4000 kroons. If the owner holds more than ten tournaments, the licence price will increase to SEK 15,000. And if a one-time tournament with at least 48 participants is held, the total licence price for such an event will be SEK 25,000.

COMMERCIAL OFFER

License for commercial online games in Sweden
The amount of the contribution is from EUR 50,000.

It is included in the price:

• filing an application;
• filling in the necessary forms;
• communication with the authorities.
• The price of this service does not include a licence fee or a technical equipment fee.

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Law and Trust International provides you with an excellent opportunity to obtain a licence for gambling activity in Sweden. Our qualified specialists are ready to help you resolve this issue in the shortest possible time.
After all, Law and Trust International is:

Full range of related services: We provide a full range of services, such as registering a company and a trademark, collecting the necessary documents, obtaining a license for the required type of activity, opening a bank account and much more.
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Reliability: Law and Trust ensures the data security of each of our clients
Efficiency: We provide a personal approach to each individual case to help bring your business to success.
Law&Trust International lawyers will be able to help you get a gaming license in Sweden quickly and with high quality.