Ever since the government introduced the gambling act, you may have been wondering how to gamble without all of those rules. And the answer is to gamble with unlicensed casinos.
But are they legal?
Yes, they are. A Swedish player can easily register with a gaming site without a license and play as much as they want. Of course, these websites are located in other countries, so they are technically not operating under Swedish law.
They have opted not to get a license and there are many reasons for this. For one, they might have been reluctant to pay the fee to apply. It can be expensive, and most casinos don’t like paying for that.
Another common reason is the tax revenue that the government imposed on bookmakers and casinos.
The most common reason, however, is the fact that casinos would have to comply with many rules and regulations which limit their opportunity to make money as well as limit their users from having fun and enjoying their time.
They may also not have any support or availability in Swedish. So, how do you go about getting a license as a Swedish casino? The procedure isn’t simple or easy.
First, you have to apply for a license with the gambling authority, as you can see here. This has been an option since August 2018. But it’s not just a matter of applying for a license. If they want to get it, they have to comply with a number of rules.
- A casino shouldn’t allow its users to play on credit as it supports excessive gambling and addiction.
- They shouldn’t advertise various bonuses as it entices people to gamble more. Only one bonus per person is allowed.
- Players need to be able to see the history of their playing and the games they played.
- An online casino should promote responsible gambling at all times, and nothing should entice people to gamble excessively.
- A person should be able to suspend themselves from the casino through the national system and they shouldn’t be able to play again until their suspension period ends.
- All players should be verified through the BankID system and this is mandatory before any withdrawal can be made.
- Every casino needs to allow their players to set limits when it comes to the deposit and the loss they can suffer. If they reach the limit, they can’t gamble anymore until the period is over.
- They shouldn’t advertise too much.
- All customer support and the website itself needs to be made available in Swedish.
- They have to make tests that allow people to see if they have a gambling problem readily available on their website.
All of this, you must admit, is a buzz kill both for players and the online gambling website. No one likes to have all of these rules around them while they are just trying to have some fun.
Imagine being presented with a suggestion that you have a gambling problem while you’re on a gambling site or that you can’t spin as quickly as you want – it’s a terrible feeling for customers.
So, people go to casinos that don’t have a license (casino utan spelpaus licens). These websites have many advantages for the customer:
- You can spin as fast as you want. No one is there to tell you that you have to wait three seconds before you can spin again. So, it’s a lot more fun and more enjoyable for people who love to gamble quickly.
- Plenty of bonuses. You can get the welcome bonus, cashback, deposit bonuses and so on. There are no limits to the number of bonuses that can be available to you.
- No need to verify your account with your BankID before you can withdraw money.
- No limits or suspensions that can prevent you from gambling as much as you want.
Of course, all of these advantages are amazing – but there could be some disadvantages as well.
Any informed player should be aware of them. For example, you need to check if a casino is reputable, there is no confirmation from the government that they provide a legitimate service. There are other disadvantages as well:
- They are not regulated by the country, so they don’t meet the mentioned requirements. You won’t be prosecuted or punished for playing there, though.
- Not too many payment methods. If a casino doesn’t have a license in Sweden, you won’t be able to use Trustly because it blocks payments from unlicensed casinos. BankID can’t be used either and many banks will block your deposits if a casino doesn’t have a legit license. However, you can always use Skrill, your credit card or Neteller.
- Swedish language and currency are rare now. You may not be able to pay in Swedish currency or get support in your own language. Still, there are some websites that offer both.
- Sometimes the payment time can be a bit longer, but most reputable brands make sure that the withdrawal time is a lot shorter and that it goes with all of the other industry standards.
- If the casino you are playing in is not located in the EU, you need to pay a 30% income tax. You don’t have to pay anything if the casino is in the EU.
As you can see, all of these disadvantages are not that harsh on the users. Gambling can still be as fun and as free as you need it to be.
So, why was the act created? Well, for several reasons.
For one, the casino market has been getting bigger and bigger, especially with the rise of online gambling. And we all know that industries on the rise offer plenty of fraud possibilities.
While there are so many reputable, legitimate online gambling businesses, there are probably as many fraudulent websites. So, this was one of the main reasons behind the new law.
Online gambling is also readily available to anyone with an internet connection, which means that gambling issues can thrive in that environment.
The Swedish government is trying to end both of these and increase protection. This is why identification has become so important and why the number of bonuses has decreased, as well as the number of possible spins.
They also noticed that people are gambling in casinos outside Sweden, which means that there is no tax revenue available for them.
Some people have been happy about the change while some are saying that it’s abusing their right to freedom.
However, this doesn’t change much for the players. Most people are aware that they can bet and play on unlicensed sites just as they did before and get all of the benefits of online gambling that they are used to.