Igaming association pushes back against call for higher tax for online casinos in Sweden
BOS has described ATG’s proposal as “self-harm” for the regulated gambling market.
Sweden.- BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, has criticised the suggestion that Sweden should follow the UK and hike the tax rate for online casino gaming. Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of the horseracing betting operator AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), last week praised the “courage” and “precision” of the UK government’s decision to differentiate casino gaming from betting on horses and to tax the former more severely.
However, BOS secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt said that any such move in Sweden would inflict “self-harm” on the regulated gambling sector.
“Raising the tax on online casino in a market with one of Europe’s largest black markets is not precision, it’s self-harm,” he said. “Higher taxes don’t reduce risk; they push players offshore, weaken consumer protection, and shrink the regulated ecosystem.”
He cited ATG’s own channelisation estimate of between 74 and 85 per cent in Q3, below the government target of 90 per cent. Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, estimated channelisation to be 85 per cent in 2024, a drop from 86 per cent in 2023.
“The solution for problem gamblers is not higher taxation; it’s regulation, and that starts with channelisation,” Hoffstedt added. “If the goal is channelisation and safety, then increasing the gap between licensed and unlicensed operators is the opposite of responsible policy.”
He also rejected Skarplöth’s suggestion that online casino gaming should face a differentiated tax rate due to higher risk. Hoffstedt said research shows no increase in gambling-related harm since Sweden regulated online casino gaming in January 2019. On the contrary, the proportion of the Swedish population with a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of three or higher dropped from 2.2 per cent in 2019 to 1.3 per cent in Q4 2024.
“All forms of gambling appear equally harmless for those without risk,” Hoffstedt claimed. “But all types of gambling appear to be dangerous for those who already have gambling problems, with the highest share of problem gamblers found within the lottery segment.”
Swedish vs UK gambling tax rises
In the Autumn Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that UK Remote Gaming Duty for online casino gambling will rise from 21 to 40 per cent from April 2026, and remote general betting duty from 15 to 25 per cent from April 2027. However, horse racing betting has been made exempt from any change in the tax rise.
While the horseracing sector has welcomed the move, the Betting and Gaming Council continues to call on the government to reassess the tax rise for igaming, suggesting that the measure won’t generate the amount of revenue the government claims.
Swedish gambling tax was increased to 22 per cent for all verticals in July 2024, a move that ATG has long criticised as damaging for the horse racing sector. It argues that aside from the risk factor, horse racing betting should have a preferential rate because of its cultural importance and its role in sustaining horseracing as a sport.
However, Hoffstedt has suggested the complete opposite. He argues that, out of all gambling verticals, horseracing betting is the one that would most be able to take a further tax rise. That’s because the channelisation rate in this segment is estimated to be much higher than for other products at 98 to 99 per cent.
“It would from a channelisation and consumer protection point of view be more rational to do the opposite, i.e., to raise the tax on horse betting and lower the tax on everything else,” Hoffstedt argued.
