Sweden Loses Millions in Revenue as More People Choose Foreign Casinos
The number of Swedish players deciding to try their luck at gambling companies abroad is growing every day. This means that the Swedish treasury is losing a lot of money in potential tax revenue.
The tax losses are estimated to be around 50 million euros for the past calendar year (~ 500 million Swedish kronor), an amount that could have been used to pay over 1,000 healthcare workers, 1,500 police officers or 600 politicians.
But how could this happen, and what are the different incentives offered by foreign players to Swedish players that have contributed to it all turning into what we see today?
To answer the above questions, in this article we will take a detailed look at this whole topic, as well as discuss why Swedish players choose foreign gaming platforms. How to choose the right game in an online casino for a beginner, see this source.
A gambling license could not stop it all
With the introduction of the Swedish gambling license in January 2019, the government intended to make it more difficult for gaming companies to avoid paying taxes when operating within the country.
This meant that all gaming companies that intended to operate in the Swedish gaming market were effectively forced to apply for a gambling license issued by the Swedish Gambling Authority.
One of the requirements reflected in the gambling license is that the gaming company in question must pay tax on all profits it generates, which in turn reduces the potential profit for the operator in question.
On the other hand, Swedish players avoid taxation on potential winnings, which ultimately means that they keep a significant portion of the profits they managed to make at a particular gaming company.
See also: From loot boxes to slots – the journey of game mechanics between mobile games and casinos
Stricter gaming rules for Swedish players
It quickly became apparent that the Swedish gambling license was not having the expected effect. Therefore, the Swedish Gambling Authority was forced to take a closer look at the matter in May 2020.
There were fears that the current Covid-19 pandemic would lead to an increased risk of gambling addiction, as many people in their loneliness would decide to seek out online gaming platforms.
As part of the containment of this whole situation, a radical decision was made: during the pandemic period, Swedish gambling companies will be forced to impose a limit on the amount that a given player can deposit each week.
As if that were not enough, the Swedish Gambling Authority also made a radical decision (in hindsight) regarding the bonus offered, which was unlikely to be welcomed with open arms by Swedish players.
In short, all this means is that the aforementioned gambling companies were suddenly forced to limit the size of the bonus provided, a decision that soon proved fatal.
The opposite effect led to Swedish players refusing to limit themselves in their gambling, while at the same time demanding a return on their deposited money in the form of profitable and generous bonuses.
Indirectly, this means that the Swedish government has to admit that potential tax revenue that could be generated through licensed gaming companies is instead going abroad!
Why do Swedish players choose foreign casinos?
We briefly touched on the above issue in the previous section, but below we will focus in more detail on explaining why Swedish players choose foreign casinos.
Although at first glance it may seem that players want to take advantage of higher bonuses, this is far from the case. To help you understand the real issue, below we will explain the main reasons why Swedish players choose foreign gaming platforms:
Bonuses – In the previous section, we already mentioned that bonuses are one of the main reasons why players choose foreign gaming companies over Swedish competitors. First of all, the fact is that foreign companies offer significantly higher amounts, and also that the variety of bonuses offered is much greater compared to Swedish companies.
