Swedish gambling regulator to monitor impact of tax increase

Sweden plans to increase gambling tax from July next year. 

Sweden.- The Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has said that it will monitor the situation to ascertain whether a planned rise in Swedish gambling tax affects channelisation to the regulated market. The Swedish government plans to increase the rate of tax on gambling from 18 per cent to 22 per cent from next July. 

Spelinspektionen has said that it has “no substantive objections” to the move but expressed concern that it could impact the number of players using licensed offerings. The regulator noted that there had been a fall in gross gaming revenue in the last two quarters, suggesting that there were signs of a reduced tax base, which could be exacerbated by the tax increase.

Sweden’s gross gaming revenue rose year-on-year for every quarter between Q3 2020 and Q1 2023 but fell by 1 per cent in Q2 this year and by 0.6 per cent in Q3.

Spelinspektionen said there would be difficulties in assessing the potential consequences but that it would aim to closely monitor developments. “Overall, Spelinspektionen believes that there is a reason to closely monitor the developments in the gambling market,” the regulator said.

The government’s Increase in Gambling Tax Memorandum Proposal published in October argues that a tax increase would be “well balanced to avoid a significant negative impact on the share of games conducted by companies licensed for gaming in Sweden”. The proposal aims to increase tax revenue by SEK270m (£20.4m) in 2024 and by SEK540m (£40.9m) per year after that.

The proposal reads: “An increase from 18 to 22 per cent is assessed in this context to be appropriate to strengthen the financing of state activities without causing a significant impact on businesses and the size of the tax base.”