Swedish Parliament Considers Lowering Gambling Tax

The Swedish parliament (Riksdagen) is set to review the possibility of lowering the country’s gambling tax following a motion from Carl Nordblom, a member of the Moderate Party. This proposal comes just three months after the tax was increased from 18% to 22% of gross gaming revenue (GGR)

Nordblom suggests that reducing the current tax rate could improve channelisation rates for onshore online operators, potentially attracting more Swedish players to the licensed market.

The motion, published on 2 October, also called on parliament to investigate the relationship between tax rates and channelisation to help evaluate further measures that could direct more players toward the legal market.

“The majority of operators have warned that the degree of channeling, the level of gambling that takes place in the Swedish licensed gaming market is decreasing,” the motion stated.

“The consequences of this will be that Swedish players turn to foreign gambling companies without a Swedish gambling license.

This news comes shortly after Betway announced it was leaving the Swedish gambling market.