Casinos Without Swedish License

Why Was the Swedish Gaming Act Devised?

The popularity of Casinos has always been high, and nowadays it continues to grow further. There are thousands of gambling websites around. As one of the most sought pastimes, online casinos might get out of control.

Today, playing in an online casino is associated with lots of joy and pleasure. But this industry is not devoid of problems as well. Due to the sheer number of online casinos available for choice, and an abundance of payment methods players can make use of, gambling attracts parties that often seek to scam people. This can result in fraud, money laundering, gaming addiction abuse, and so on.

This is what the Swedish government strives to protect its citizens from by making the legislation strict and clear. This also helps players to manage their losses better and be more protected overall. In order to play at Swedish casinos, one has to be properly identified.

Apart from that, the number of bonuses available to a single player has been drastically reduced, which makes it harder to attract new clients for the casino. While these measures are intended to protect players’ interests. they make many gamblers seek better terms in the casinos without a Swedish license.

Seeing how they lose potential tax revenue, the Swedish government decided to come up with a new Gaming Act in 2019, which obliges all the casinos willing to target Swedish consumers to get a license from the Swedish Gambling Authority. Still, many Swedish gamblers prefer to spend their free time at casinos without a Swedish license simply because it is not prohibited in any way, and they can win substantially more then, not to mention better bonuses and promotions.

What Does It Take to Get a Swedish Gambling License?

Every gaming website willing to operate across the territory of Sweden and target Swedish players must apply for a license from the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA). There is a hefty list of requirements a casino must meet in order to continue its operation in Sweden after January 1, 2019.

• There should be no credit play
• It is allowed to grant only one bonus to a player
• Casino must keep track of all the player’s gaming history
• Casino must partner up with a responsible gambling organization
• It should be possible for players to limit themselves
• In order to withdraw funds, a player must be identified with BankID
• There must be loss and deposit limitation functionality
• Severe moderation of business advertising
• Every bit of information must be translated into Swedish

As you see, there is a lot to keep track of in order to comply with the newest Swedish gambling legislation. Many operators choose not to opt-in for a Swedish license because all the changes they are obliged to make would cost tremendous amounts of money. So for them, it makes more sense to withdraw from the Swedish market officially but to continue accepting Swedish punters nonetheless, because it is perfectly legal.

Do I have to pay taxes on my winnings at an unlicensed casino?

To answer this question, first, we must understand that the situation may vary and that it depends on a multitude of factors. In general, the winnings at an unlicensed casino are not tax-free. But this concerns only those casinos that are licensed outside of Europe, such as the ones holding the Curacao eGaming license. You will have to pay a 30% tax on winnings over 100 SEK in those casinos.

At the same time, the casinos licensed in a European country, such as Malta, let you win without thinking about taxes, even though they don’t possess Swedish licenses. But there is a catch. The winnings will be only tax-free if the casino doesn’t target Swedish players. It’s a dodgy subject but you can easily tell if the casino targets Swedish players or not simply by looking at its website. Here are some key points you should be aware of:

• Check If the site has Swedish text
• Check If games are offered in Swedish kronor
• Check If bonuses and promotions are marketed with SEK as the currency

In case a website has any of the above, it means that it is aimed at Swedish players and the winnings on this website would not be tax-free, you will have to pay 30%.

Examples of casino winnings and taxation

In order to illustrate how the taxation in an online casino without a Swish license would work, we’ve come up with these three examples:

Example A: Gambling at a casino with a license in Malta aimed at Swedish players (eg with Swedish text) = 30% tax.
Example B: Gambling at a casino licensed in Cyprus = 30% tax.
Example C: Gambling at a casino with a license in the European Economic Area that has no focus on Sweden = tax-free.

What about responsible gaming at a casino without a Swedish license?

Casinos without a license in Sweden cannot use the responsible gaming tools developed by the Swedish Gambling Authority. Therefore, Swedish players cannot take advantage of self-suspension systems that can assist in case they develop a gambling addiction.

As a user, you specify the time you want to switch off games and confirm with e-identification. When done, you are effectively prevented from both logging in and depositing money on gaming sites. Foreign gaming sites are, by definition, considered a casino without this feature.

Payment Methods in Casinos without Swedish License

Regarding the payment methods available in online casinos without Swedish license, there are not so many differences compared to the licensed venues. Players are free to deposit and withdraw using their credit/debit cards such as Visa and Mastercard, and also utilize a whole range of eWallets like Skrill, Neteller, and Ecopayz.

Trustly, which is a Swedish payment system is widely supported across Europe, which also opens up many opportunities to play in the casinos without registration. The only payment method you certainly won’t find in a casino without Swedish license is Swish because this system works exclusively with the SGA license holders.

Payout Speed in Casinos Without Swedish License

The new regulation has made life tougher for both small and large gaming sites. The 18% gaming tax and high compliance costs are factors that make Sweden a less interesting market than before. In addition, the rule of max one bonus per player has put spikes in the wheels when it comes to marketing opportunities.

Note that all Casino winnings are taxed at 30%, just like when you play at a land-based casino outside Europe, such as Las Vegas, or when you sell stocks and funds. It is therefore about taxation on capital income. However, if the casino has a license in Europe, eg Malta, all winnings will be tax-free. We list all casinos without a license that are tax-free.

When it comes to payouts, the casinos that are not licensed in Sweden demonstrate roughly the same results for Swedish players as for players from other countries. Usually, the withdrawal requests get processed within a single day or even faster, and there’s no hindrance in getting a payout from a casino without a Swedish license.

How Many Casinos Without Swedish License are there?

There are over 100 sites that have a valid license for the Swedish gaming market. However, it is far from all sites that have chosen to target Sweden. The reasons may vary. The mandatory tax is one and the rule of a bonus per player (which puts spikes in the wheels when it comes to marketing opportunities) is another.

We can estimate that in 2019 you have around 200 gaming sites to play on, all reviewed by 99casinos. Some are complete gaming companies with many types of games while others are specialized online casinos. Some are veterans that have been involved for several decades while others are new sites that have chosen to try to establish themselves in Sweden.

There are about 100 former Swedish casinos that fall away in the new gaming market. It is of course possible to apply for a license at a later date, but it is clear that we must get used to having a smaller selection to choose from than we had before. Probably we can expect that the gaming companies that today have not applied for a license will not do so in the nearest future. To see who applied for a license and which has been approved, you can visit the licensed casino list.

Examples of online casinos and gaming companies that do not have a Swedish gaming license include both major players and smaller players. Some of the most famous names are probably Mobilebet, Instacasino, Twin Casino, Ikibu, Cashmio, Euroslots, and Codeta. These players were largely active in the Swedish market until the turn of the year 2018/2019 (some however closed later). Noteworthy is that a lot of really big global gaming companies such as Ladbrokes and Casino.com have not chosen to enter the Swedish market.

What Happens if You Play at a Casino Without Swedish License?

For a player in Sweden, the natural choice is to play at casinos and gaming companies with a license. Choosing such an online casino or gaming company guarantees safe games, tax-free winnings, the ability to control gambling with deposit and wagering limits, the ability to set game breaks, and so on.

However, gambling on sites that are not licensed by the Swedish Gambling Authority is not illegal. There is no rule of law that applies the procedure to play at a "foreign" casino. The Swedish Gambling Authority has no task to control what Swedish players do online and the Swedish Tax Agency is only interested in any tax issues. You can safely play on unlicensed gaming companies only if you understand that your consumer protection is not as strong as on licensed sites.

Taxable vs. Tax-free

If you play and win at a gaming site licensed by the Swedish Gambling Authority, you never have to pay any taxes. The tax on gambling in Sweden is instead paid by the gaming companies (18% of the net). Based on this, the basic rule is that games on non-licensed sites should be taxed at 30% (capital income type). However, this is just the basic rule.

According to EU laws, profits that are recorded on sites licensed in the EU are tax-free. The EU has not disappeared and this rule still applies. One prerequisite, however, is that the relevant gaming companies do not appeal to Swedish players in any way. If a site has any of the following features, profits will not be tax-free.

In short: If a site you play on has a license in the EU / EEA (for example Malta / MGA) and has no purpose whatsoever to target Sweden, then the profits are tax-free.

Note: This is only a brief and not fully detailed overview of the applicable rules as presented by the Swedish Tax Agency. For more information on the tax effects of gaming on casino sites without a license, please see the Swedish Tax Agency's website.

Access and Payment Blocking

A fairly large number of online casinos without a license in Sweden have set up effective barriers to prevent Swedish players from playing. You cannot log in, deposit money or play on the sites. Swedish players are simply blocked. This is made possible by software that checks IP addresses. One reason is that the sites simply want to avoid any potential problems. Another reason may be that they want to keep the possibility of applying for a Swedish license in the future.

Payment blocking is not something that matters today, but it may be addressed in the future. The Swedish Gambling Authority's mission is to ensure that the channeling to licensed companies is maximized. One way to counteract gambling at foreign gaming companies is to simply block payment options. This is something that has been going on the in, among others, Norway lately.

Anyone who plays at a casino without a Swedish gaming license may in the future run the risk of not being able to deposit money to and / or withdraw money from a foreign site, even with payment methods such as Direct Bank Transfer.

One of the possible solutions to this problem might be found within the realm of cryptocurrency. Since this is the most secure payment option, and it is irrelevant, which country the wallet’s owner comes from, paying with cryptocurrencies, might be the answer. Note, however, that not every gambling website supports or accepts cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, LTC, etc. You will have to search harder for a casino of this kind

Disadvantages of Gambling at an Online Casino Without Swedish License

If you choose to play at a tax-free foreign casino, you automatically get a number of disadvantages to consider. The four main ones are listed below:

• No possibility to use Spelpaus and other game limitation features
• Games in currencies other than SEK (Swedish kronor)
• No possibility to use Swedish payment methods (eg Swish)
• No opportunity to complain to Swedish authorities such as the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Swedish Gambling Authority

In case you choose to play in an unlicensed Sweden casino, it is the consumer protection that suffers the most. When playing at casinos licensed by the Gaming Inspection there is an array of safety-assuring functions. In addition, you can always expect the sites to follow the Gaming Act. These are really tough pieces of legislation created to establish a safe gaming environment.

Casinos Without Spelpaus

What is Spelpaus? Spelpaus is a genuinely good idea for those who think that they have developed a gaming addiction and need to take a longer break from online gaming or stop playing for good. The feature can also be used to stop gaming for a month if you feel you have played a little too much.

By playing with Spelpaus, you can automatically turn off all casinos with a Swedish license and prevent further gambling. However, this does not apply to Casino without a license as they do not comply with Swedish license requirements. We do not recommend anyone to play at a casino without a license or a casino without Spelpaus support as no one wants to promote gambling addiction.

Do you feel you have a gambling problem at a casino without Spelpaus? Contact casino support immediately and close your account permanently.

If you want to switch off from a casino with a Swedish license you should go directly to https://www.spelpaus.se.

How does Spelpaus work?

If you switch off via Spelpaus, you are stopped from playing at all licensed online casinos. It is simply about all games for which you have to identify yourself digitally or physically. All players who are licensed in Sweden are obliged to check every attempt to log in / register against the Games Authority's register.

You can turn yourself off in four ways.

If you switch off via Spelpaus, you are banned from playing at all licensed online casinos. In short, you are blocked from all games in Sweden. It is not possible to block only certain game types such as casino or lottery.

Using Spelpaus.se requires that you can use e-identification of any kind. The service supports BankID, mobile BankID, Telia eID and Freja eID +.

• One month - The shutdown will end automatically after 1 month
• 3 months - The shutdown will end automatically after 3 months
• 6 months - The shutdown will end automatically after 6 months
• Indefinite - The suspension is valid for at least 12 months. After 12 months you can log in to spelpaus.se again and end your suspension. Otherwise, it will continue to be valid until further notice.

Note: A shutdown cannot be undone, changed, or terminated prematurely. Once you confirm that you want to turn off games, the decision is irrevocable.

Our Lists of Casinos without Swedish License

There is a lot of talk about casinos without a Swedish license in order to get bonuses on every deposit. Not every such casino is listed among our verified casinos, and there may be the lack of reviews. But we also provide a list of casinos that simply fit the following criteria:

• Do they receive Swedish players?
• Can you get more than one bonus?
• Do they offer Trustly support?

Two of the most important criteria for appearing on our leaderboard are the reliability of payouts and the credibility of the casino. At 99casinos, we often run tests among the listed casinos without a Swedish license to guarantee just that.

All the casinos in our list have been tested to ensure that Swedish players receive payouts quickly and easily in the event of a win. Therefore, as a Swedish player, you should avoid fake lists at unlicensed casinos and only play at the casinos we have recommended. Among the 100+ casinos we have reviewed, we have only listed a few as none of the other unlicensed casinos held the measure of credibility and guaranteed payouts with payment methods such as Direct Bank Transfer and Trustly.

At the time, we have not received a single comment that a casino in our list has been spotted delaying or not fulfilling a payment to a winning player. However, we have received several notices about unlicensed casinos that are not on our list that have denied Swedish players their payouts.

Should a non-licensed casino in our top list deny you payment, please feel free to email us at info@99casinos.com. In case of a possible message to us, we will contact the casino and assist with the process of withdrawing payments.

Are Casinos Without Swedish License Safe?

Foreign casinos definitely safe, but only if you show some vigilance in searching for one that is suitable for your needs. The Swedish Gambling Authority license is but a measure that would work in your favor in case of issues concerning your play.

If you choose a casino without Swedish license wisely, you won’t ever need protection from the Swedish government. Simply apply the same criteria as you would for a Swedish-based casino. You might take into account the following to ensure the safety of a gambling venue:

• Check for the license first. If it is a reliable one like from Maltam UKGC or Gibraltar, then you will likely avoid any trouble playing in this particular casino.

• Try to inquire about fairness certification. Each casino should be audited by independent bodies such as eCogra, TS, iTach Labs, or GLI. These companies ensure that the games at any given casino are true to the random number generator and provide fair results for each player at any time.

• Make sure that the games come from well-known providers. Look out for such names as NetEnt, Microgaming, Novomatic, and Playtech. These gaming companies have proven to be fair and trustworthy, and they will never associate themselves with scammers.

Why Can’t Every Casino be Licensed in Sweden?

A natural question is why not all gaming companies and online casinos are licensed in Sweden. What makes many players choose to stand outside the regulated market? There are various reasons for that.

The requirements for gaming companies and online casinos in Sweden from 2019 onwards entail both financial, legal, and organizational burdens that the gaming sites have previously managed without. These impositions make it less attractive to enter the new Swedish gaming market.

We can name four types of gaming companies that choose to refuse a Swedish License:

• Operators who do not want to pay the tax of 18%
• Operators who do not want to pay the license fee
• Smaller companies that do not have the financial strength to meet the license requirements
• Large companies that have many brands and want to focus on a few

In addition, there are, of course, players who are unwilling to follow, for example, the rules of moderation in marketing. Furthermore, there are sites that do not want to make changes in their packages of bonuses and loyalty packages. The rules of the Swedish Gambling Authority are clear - every new player can only receive one bonus, which upsets a big portion of the online gambling community.

Taxes are a significant factor as well. Anyone who shares news through the major newspapers and TV channels can easily be led to believe that online casinos and other gaming sites are pure gold mines. However, the truth is that there are a lot of costs associated with running a gaming site. The profit margins are actually quite tight. The margin per game round is on average 4-5% (100% less the reimbursement percentage) and then the game provider itself must be paid. The obligation to pay a tax of 18% is not so attractive to everyone.

This reason for leaving Sweden is perhaps the most obvious for large sites with customers in many countries where Swedish players are not the main target group. This very reason has been cited by a lot of larger gaming groups.

Organizational changes cost money. The Gaming Act sets requirements for new control systems for loss and bet limits and profit history. Players should also be able to use secure methods for registration and login (eg BankID or EnterCash). In addition, sites that are licensed must be connected to the Swedish Game Authority's system for self-suspension. In short, there are a lot of new processes and technologies that need to be in place. These cost both in time, money, and resources in the form of employees.

It is likely that many smaller gaming companies can sign for this reason not to apply for a license. A relatively new online casino with quite a few customers may not have the strength or the will to be able to meet the requirements.

Many major gaming companies have a large number of brands. There are examples of operators that have over 100 brands! All requirements set by the Gaming Act should apply to just about every site, and this obviously poses challenges for gaming companies with many brands. Therefore, there are several big players who simply drown in their range of brands. The purpose is to focus on a small number.

One example here is Cherry / ComeOn. Prior to December 2018, the company had twelve brands in the Swedish market. A day later, the number has been reduced to seven.

The reason for the new Swedish gaming legislation is to increase consumer protection for Swedish players. We can also say, somewhat strangely, that the issue of increased tax revenue to the state has probably been included at some point in the decision-making process.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of online casinos that have had no major focus on consumer protection. These have been effectively discouraged from applying for a Swedish license and this means that they have been automatically sorted out. It is simply not possible to cross consumers' interests in the new Swedish gaming market. This is obviously very positive for us players!