Sweden: Spelpaus registrations surpass 100,000

The Swedish gambling regulator has reported a new milestone in registrations for the self-exclusion system. 

Sweden.- The Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has reported that Spelpaus, the centralised national self-exclusion system, has now surpassed 100,000 registered users. The system, which is run by Spelinspektionen, was launched at the start of January 2019 to coincide with the start of regulated online gambling in Sweden.

Swedish online gambling operators have the obligation to connect their databases to the system so that self-excluded customers cannot access their products and do not receive marketing communications. Last year, the regulator revamped the Spelpaus website and conducted awareness-raising campaigns. 

Spelpaus 2.0 also has improved functionalities and ID verification and the website provides clearer guidance on how to self-exclude and how to make family referrals. The number of people registered has increased by 25 per cent from last year.

In September, the Swedish government announced plans to grant extra funding to Spelinspektionen for the next financial year. Its 2024 budget proposes that an extra SEK10.8m (€906,000) be allocated to help the regulator tackle the unlicensed market. This will be increased to SEK15.6m in 2025 and SEK18.6m in 2026.

The government said it expects Spelinspektionen to develop a closer working relationship with Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority for the funding to have benefits.

Meanwhile, the government has proposed an increase in the tax rate applied to gross gambling revenue in Sweden. If approved, the rate will rise from 18 per cent to 22 per cent from July 1, 2024. The government estimates that the change would generate an extra SEK540m (€45.5m) in annual tax revenue. The government said it was proposing the change now since it believes the market has stabilised following the opening of regulated online gambling at the start of 2019.