Skip to content
A new report from ATG highlights the persistent issue of unlicensed gambling in Sweden, showing that a significant portion of the country’s betting activity remains outside the regulated system.
Despite ongoing regulatory efforts, the channelling rate – representing the percentage of bets placed within the licensed gambling framework – was reported to be between 69-82% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This figure falls far short of the Swedish government’s target of 90%.
Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG’s, mentioned:
It is unreasonable that such a large proportion of gambling still takes place outside the licensing system. Unlicensed gambling is a breeding ground for money laundering, but above all, Swedish players are without protection from rogue operators. The annual turnover of unlicensed gambling is almost as much as the entire Swedish primary school costs.
The ATG report exposes the activities of unlicensed gambling platforms, revealing that 17 of the 20 largest sites operate using the same platform providers as licensed operators – something that should not be feasible under existing regulations.
Additionally, six of these sites facilitated direct deposits and withdrawals through Swedish bank accounts via BankID, while two were listed on the Swedish Gambling Authority’s prohibition list.
These revelations follow a National Audit Office report that criticized the Swedish Gambling Authority for inadequate oversight, concluding that the current regulatory framework has not delivered the effectiveness anticipated during the 2019 market re-regulation.
