At the beginning of July, the Swedish gambling market is undergoing significant changes in the form of new restrictions introduced as a step in the fight against gambling during the ongoing pandemic. However, the proposal has met with huge criticism, which has already led to changes to the odds and rates, which are now completely unaffected.
Spain currently has a ban on gambling advertising in place to prevent more people from being drawn into gambling, but in Sweden the government has taken a different approach. From July 2nd until the end of the year, only a maximum of 5,000 Swedish kronor per week will be allowed for deposits to a gaming company, provided that the license extends to online casinos.
Players are also limited when it comes to bonuses, as they are now only allowed to reach 100 kronor, and mandatory time limits for games are also being introduced.
However, casinos without a Swedish license in 2025 will become more attractive in the future, largely due to the fact that most foreign gaming sites are not subject to such strict restrictions.
The Swedish Gambling Authority will also soon launch a campaign to provide more information about Spelpaus, the national suspension register, but many critical voices have already started to reduce gambling limits and have also warned of a possible erosion of the entire licensing system, which we will discuss in more detail below. How to increase winnings with free spins, read this source - https://www.bastgratis.se/ovrigt/maximera-vinster-med-free-spins-tips-for-basta-resultat/.
Large-scale restrictions can lead to a catastrophic failure
Ola Wiklund, an EU lawyer, recently wrote an article for Dagens Industri in which he criticized the gambling restrictions as a commercial ploy to drive foreign gambling companies out of Sweden, which benefited state-owned gambling companies in the long run.
A new gambling law was introduced on 1 January 2024, which also changed the rules that allowed foreign gambling companies to operate in Sweden if they paid a special license, as well as the 18% gambling tax. However, the law severely limited all the various incentives that casino sites offered, which made it difficult for many smaller companies to succeed. It also led to smaller brands having to close their doors forever.
On the other hand, larger players survived better, but it became much more difficult to compete in the Swedish market. Now, with additional restrictions in place until the end of the year, it will be very difficult to justify why the Swedish gaming industry should be covered by the licensing system.
The main idea of the gaming license was to increase player protection, but according to most critics, when only a small proportion of players have gambling problems, broad restrictions are no longer justified. The gaming companies themselves have pointed out that the entire licensing system is at risk of being undermined, and this statement is further reinforced by the decrease in the level of sewage.
Conclusion
Many players prefer unlicensed casinos, published data according to which almost a quarter of Swedish players prefer unlicensed casinos, i.e. foreign gaming sites that use, for example, a Maltese or Estonian license. Casinos registered in Curacao also offer the most bonuses, as well as cryptocurrencies and foreign currencies such as US dollars, euros and rubles.
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