Since 2019, Sweden’s online gambling scene has experienced tremendous growth following the inception of the SGA’s Gambling Act of 2018. Since then, many popular online casinos have opened shops in Sweden.
By all accounts, it seems as if online gambling is the preferred gaming method in Sweden. This is indicated by its remarkable growth in the last few years and is expected to reach €1.7 billion in 2024.
One look at the list of best online casinos catering to Swedish players available at bestcasinosites.net is enough to see how popular the practice is becoming. This stands in stark contrast to the situation on the ground, i.e. physical gambling, which is state-run and generally has more restrictions.
Why Are Online Casinos Becoming The Preferred Gaming Destination?
The reason online casinos are becoming the preferred gaming destination is because of the way the Swedish Gambling Authority has draft its laws about land-based and online gambling.
Land-based gambling has been present in Sweden since 1994. However, it’s been restricted to only 4 locations across the country. Furthermore, the practice is entirely state-run and operated by a company called Casino Cosmopol.
This was done to limit gambling across Sweden purposefully. However, the same approach does not apply to online casinos, which operate with little or no major legal restrictions.
That does not mean that online gaming sites operate completely unrestrained. Swedish online casinos are subject to high tax rates, rigorous audits, and a long list of demands by the SGA. This, in turn, means that only the best of the best online casinos can be present on the Swedish market.
What Are the Benefits of Online Casinos in Sweden?
The first and most obvious benefit is convenience. Land-based casinos are only available in 4 cities: Stockholm, Gotenborg, Malmo, and Sundsvall. Any prospecting player wishing to partake in land-based gambling must either live in those cities or travel there to play.
Another significant benefit of gaming sites is promotional variety. As we mentioned earlier, Sweden’s gambling laws are notoriously strict, meaning only the best and most competitive casinos manage to stay afloat. To do that, they need to garner new players while also satisfying their player base. Because of that, every online casino in Sweden tries to get the upper hand over the competition via better promotions and services to entice players to their site.
Another significant convenience is the game and bonus variety. Since land-based casinos in Sweden are run and operated by a single company, there aren’t many differences in games between the 4 casino locations.
Online casinos do not suffer from this handicap. Because of the more competitive nature of the iGaming market, the variety of games like slots, roulette, poker, and blackjack is considerably broader. Bonuses and loyalty benefits are another advantage online casinos have over brick-and-mortar venues.
A Detailed Look at Sweden’s Online Gambling Market Trends
In 2023, Sweden’s online gambling market cap was 1.5B USD. By 2028, that market cap is expected to reach €2.15B. This shows a remarkable growth margin, and if trends from the years before are any indicators, then the market cap will certainly reach higher values by 2028.
The average revenue per user also showed an interesting finding. For a long time, online lotteries held the top spot as the most profitable type of online gambling activity. However, online casinos have shown an impressive rise in this metric in recent years. If online casino gaming trends continue at the current pace, online casinos will surpass online lotteries in the 2030s.
Despite being the least profitable online gambling activity currently, online sports betting is projected to become the most popular online gambling activity by 2028, with an estimated player base of more than 900.000 players. This is more than the online lottery and online casino player bases combined!
What Sort of Games Are Being Played?
In 2022, a Sweden-based independent research institute conducted a study on the gambling habits of players in Sweden. They targeted three groups: active players, former players, and potential players.
The active player group showed that slots are the preferred game type in Sweden, with a majority of 52% of players partaking in some form of slots game, followed by card games, then table games like blackjack and roulette.
The potential player group also showed interesting results. Unlike the active player group and active player group, the potential player group was asked which games they found most appealing. Blackjack topped the poll as the most popular game, starkly contrasting what the active and former players groups testified. This was followed by slots, roulette, then other games.
Former players were asked the same questions and the results showed that it was neither slots nor blackjack, but rather, scratchcards and trotting.
This statistic is slightly different from the other two groups because it shows which games former players found the most enjoyable rather than which games they played the most.
The Land-Based Gambling Experience
The main function of land-based gambling in Sweden is to promote tourism, hence why all 4 casinos in Sweden are situated in popular tourist sites like Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo. There are, however, minor differences between the 4 casinos that make them unique.
Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm is by far the most well-known of the four. It has around 400 slot machines, daily poker tournaments, and 44 live dealer tables. It also has amenities like a bar and a restaurant for guests.
Gothenburg’s casino is the biggest and most impressive of the bunch. What makes Gothenburg’s Casino Cosmopol such a big draw is its variety of slot machines. On top of that, it also hosts daily poker tournaments for its patrons.
Following these is Malmo’s Casino Cosmopol. It’s a bit smaller than the previous two but its position in the middle of the city is excellent for promoting further exploration. Like the rest, it has about 200 slot-type games, 32 live dealer tables, and daily poker tournaments.
Finally, we have Sundsvall’s Casino Cosmopol. This is the smallest casino of the four but has all the amenities the other casinos have. Because of its size, it offers fewer games than the rest. The game selection comprises about 150 slot machines and 15 live dealer tables.
Conclusion & Summary
As can be seen by the findings, Sweden’s gambling market is slowly but surely growing. Recent trends have shifted the focus more toward online gambling. On the other hand, land-based gaming serves chiefly as a tourist attraction rather than an all-present feature.
Because of Sweden’s prudent legislature regarding online gambling, only the best of the best online casinos are allowed to operate in the country. This has created an atmosphere where only the best online casinos can thrive, leading to better features and more lucrative promotions for active or prospecting players.