Sweden has raised the gambling consumption tax, which has officially taken effect.
The new tax rate has increased from 18% to 22%, covering all industries. Prior to government approval in May, the Swedish industry had mixed reactions to this.
The gambling regulatory authority Spelinspektionen stated that although it has "no substantial objections" to the tax increase, it warned of "certain difficulties" in "assessing" the potential consequences of this change. It highlighted concerns about the potential impact on guiding players towards legal gambling avenues and the impact on the illegal market.
Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General of the Swedish Trade Association BOS, noted that the unlicensed and illegal gambling market in Sweden might "gain market share" due to the new tax regime.
The main focus of Swedish operator ATG, which concentrates on racetracks and horse racing, advocates maintaining the current gambling tax and proposes raising the tax rate for commercial online gambling to 26%. Hans Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG, emphasized that the online casino market is "much larger than the betting market" and is the "fastest growing part of the market".
However, the government's memorandum noted:
In this context, we believe that raising the tax rate from 18% to 22% is appropriate to strengthen the financing of national activities without causing significant impact on businesses and the size of the tax base.
The proposal is expected to increase tax revenue by 270 million Swedish kronor (20.4 million pounds) in 2024, followed by an increase of 540 million Swedish kronor (40.9 million pounds).
The plan was first announced in September 2023, with the government claiming that the Swedish market has stabilized following the re-regulation in 2019.
