The Gambling Commission of Sweden

Swedish gambling authority (Spelinspektionen) has been established in order to, as it says on the official website , “provide consumers with the tools needed for fair gaming by maintaining a transparent and balanced gaming market in addition to reducing the potentially harmful social effects which gambling may entail, work towards a sound and safe gaming market, contribute to a reduction of illegal gambling and lottery operations”.

To reach these goals, SGA issues a gambling license to those entrepreneurs who would like to offer their services to Swedish residents.

So to speak, a Swedish gambling license is strictly a local one. A casino with a SGA license can not operate internationally. Its validity is only limited to the Swedish gambling market.

If a casino is planning to operate around the world, it has to acquire at least one international gambling license (such as MGA or Curacao Antillephone).

Criteria I used to pick the best Swedish licensed casinos

There are quite a few online casinos operating under a Swedish gambling license so it is a bit challenging to pick the best ones, at which you are going to enjoy your gaming sessions. I used these criteria to make the rating above:

• Trustworthiness. This is not the biggest concern when it comes to the Swedish licensed online casinos (the commission is doing a good job controlling its license holders). Anyway, all casinos in the rating do not have any reputation issues.

• License validity. I have manually checked the validity of all licenses. I have not come across online casinos with a fake Swedish license. Anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry.

• Software validity. This is another thing I normally do before including any online casino in each my rating. The Swedish licensed online casinos are no exception. Here is a technique how I do it by the way.

• Account security. A casino in order to get in the rating must implement very strict security measures to protect players’ funds from hackers.

• High quality support. In order to deemed such, a casino needs to introduce a live chat service, which is the most convenient way of communication.

• Reasonable KYC policy. KYC is an inevitable part of playing at any legit online casino. However, a casino must not give players a hard time when it comes to this procedure.

• Promotions. SGA prohibits Swedish residents from getting any welcome offers. However, some other promotions (VIP-programs, cashback, tournaments, races) are still available. So all casinos in the rating have got at least some of it.

• Deposit/withdrawal methods choice. Not only there must be enough payment options, but a casino needs to have at least some local deposit methods (such as Trustly).

• Withdrawal limits. I do not include in the rating if a casino does not allow to withdraw at least 7,000 EUR per month (which is still a bit low limits, but much more than 2,000 EUR as it takes place at some other casinos).

• Variety of the games library. There are some restrictions for Swedish residents in terms of slot studios. However, there are plenty of providers that offer its games to Swedish players. So to speak, I always check that there are at least 1,000 slots available, and card/table/live dealer games on top of that.

• Website’s user friendliness. Last but not least, a casino’s website has to work fast. Moreover, it has to have unsophisticated navigation so that all sections can be accessed easily.

Reliability of the Swedish gambling license

If you are a Swedish resident (not only a citizen, but if you are physically in Sweden), then the Swedish licensed online casinos are definitely the best choice.

The commission has very high standards when it comes to controlling its licensees so you can expect a decent level of protection.

However, don’t forget that the Swedish gambling license is a local one so if, let’s say, you are not a Swedish resident you won’t get protection to the fullest extent.

License types:

• Casino games, restaurant casinos and poker

• Gaming machines and amusement games

• Betting on sports games, horses and dogs

• National lotteries

• Bingo

• Svenska Spel’s lotteries and numbers games

How to file a complaint to Spelinspektionen (Swedish Gambling Authority)

The Swedish gambling authority does not resolve players’ complaints itself. Instead, it has delegated this duty to the Swedish Consumer Agency.

Therefore, if you have any issue that has to be addressed, you need to file a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency.

Email: [email protected]

Address: Konsumentverket, Box 48, 651 02, Karlstad

If you would like to learn more about the topic, please read this article.

How to verify a Swedish gambling license

Unfortunately the SGA does not have automatic verification service (as the UKGC or the MGA has).

In order to verify a casino's license, you need to establish the company under which the casino operates.

Then you need to check if this company is listed here: https://www.spelinspektionen.se/licensansokan/bolag-med-spellicens/

If a casino accepts Swedish players does it mean it has a Swedish license?

This is not how it works at all. On paper, an online casino can only accept Swedish residents if it has acquired a Swedish gambling license. In reality many offshore licensed online casinos (for example, Curacao Antillephone N.V.) do accept Swedish players without having a Swedish gambling license.

Thus if a casino accepts Swedish residents it does not automatically mean that this casino is licensed in Swedish jurisdiction. So just keep this moment in mind.

The Swedish Gambling Authority and bonuses

The SGA strictly prohibits any welcome bonuses to be offered to Swedish residents. Even many offshore licensed online casinos do implement such a rule excluding Swedish players from getting any first deposit promotions.

Conclusion

Summing up, the SGA is a quite strong controlling body. It really works hard towards its declared high goals.

The only disadvantage (and it is a really big one) is that the commission is concerned only about Swedish residents’ interest. It does not offer any protection to international players. So if this is the case, don’t rely on the SGA if you are not playing from Sweden.