Sweden’s Illegal Gambling Traffic Surges Tenfold Since 2019, Says ATG Report

A new report by AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) reveals a tenfold increase in visits to illegal gambling websites in Sweden since 2019. This surge underscores the growing challenges faced by the country’s regulated gambling market as it struggles to meet government channelisation targets.

Released on 4 December, ATG’s Q3 report estimates Sweden’s channelisation rate—the percentage of players using licensed gambling platforms—ranges between 70% and 82%. This falls below the 86% rate reported by Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, in October, and remains far from the government’s 90% goal.

Traffic to unlicensed gambling platforms has skyrocketed, with these sites now generating an estimated SEK150 billion annually. This amount is comparable to the total operational cost of Sweden’s primary schools.

Challenges in Regulation
ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth criticised current regulations, describing them as “counterproductive.” He said:
“To simultaneously make such high demands on us licensed gambling companies, while these enormous sums escape regulation and control, is both unreasonable and counterproductive.”

Online casinos showed the lowest channelisation rates, at 60% to 75%, while sports betting performed slightly better at 77% to 87%. According to the report, Swedish consumers are spending significantly more on unlicensed platforms than on regulated ones.

The report identified the top 20 unlicensed websites accessed by Swedish consumers. Of these, eight provided direct banking options for Swedish users, and only two were listed on Spelinspektionen’s ban list. Leading the unlicensed market was Unlimitcasino.com with 159,320 visitors in Q3, followed by Refuelcasino.com and Luckyjungle.com. Notably, Luckyjungle.com saw the highest growth in visitors, despite entering the market only a year ago.

Response and Future Outlook
In response to the growing problem, Skarplöth reaffirmed ATG’s commitment to combat illegal gambling:
“ATG will do what we can to contribute to the fight against the unlicensed gambling companies… until the licensed companies have a monopoly on gambling in Sweden.”

The report highlights an urgent need for stronger regulatory measures to tackle the proliferation of unlicensed sites. Without intervention, Sweden’s channelisation rates may continue to fall short of government targets, potentially weakening the regulated gambling sector.