The online casino industry is constantly developing. And among all its novelties, we can also find many challenging things, which turned even more players into online betting and skyrocketed the industry.
From the perspective of player protection, more players mean potentially more problem gambling, and from what we can see, different countries have different methods of dealing with new challenges.
Sweden is no exception. Moreover, a new Gambling Act has been in power since 2019, and it has brought new regulations in the field.
Although these measures definitely have a positive impact on reducing problem gambling, many players also feel that the same measures harm the playing experience.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that more and more players are choosing off-shore casinos instead of those with the Swedish license.
Main Issues
As we’ve just mentioned, these new measures have negative impacts as well, especially when looking from the players’ perspective. So, here are some of the main rules that kill playing experience, according to most players:
- The first thing that comes to mind is the infamous 3-second rule. This rule means that players have to wait 3 seconds after every single spin when playing slot games. Although the motive was to control problem gamblers, most players think that the rule completely kills the playing experience.
- Another issue is a weekly deposit limit. According to the new Gambling Act, players can deposit no more than SEK 5,000 (around €500) in one week. Of course, that’s a great measure to prevent problem gamblers from spending everything they have. But for a regular high-roller player, this limitation is a clear reason to choose an unlicensed casino over a licensed one.
- Also, online casinos with Swedish licenses can offer just one bonus (welcome bonus), which can’t go over SEK 100 (around €10). In the case of abroad casinos, players may count on all other kinds of promotions, such as free spins, no deposit bonuses, weekly bonuses, VIP programs, cashback etc.
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Why are people turning into unlicensed casinos?
The catch with unlicensed casinos is that they don’t have to meet these requirements and legislative restrictions. In other words, there are no limits, which leads us to the conclusion that these casinos are a better choice.
First of all, there are no delays between spins, and players can deposit as much as they want. What is more, there are all kinds of promotions. Besides the welcome bonus, players may count on regular bonuses, lucrative perks, VIP programs, cashback bonuses and many other things.
These aren’t the only benefits of an unlicensed casino. Most of them offer a broader range of games, as titles from game providers that don’t have Swedish licenses are included in the offer too.
Also, off-shore online casinos are usually Pay N Play casinos, which means that you don’t have to bother with a complicated registration process. All you need to do is to use Trustly as a payment method, and you won’t be required to bother with entering all kinds of personal data.
Are unlicensed casinos really unlicensed?
Even though these off-shore casinos don’t have the Swedish license, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t acquire some other licenses.
Te competition between online casinos is extremely tough, and one of the ways to stand out from the crowd is to gain licenses from highly-reputable gambling commissions from countries like Malta, the UK, Gibraltar, Curacao et cetera.
For casinos, that’s the best way to advertise themselves as secure and fair gambling establishments.
Considering all the things that we’ve just mentioned, it’s no wonder that many Swedish players prefer unlicensed casinos. In that way, they can enjoy a much better playing experience.
From the government’s perspective, that’s becoming a big problem. Of course, we can talk about problem gambling all day long, but another thing that comes to mind is revenue.
More players on abroad websites mean less income for licensed casinos, which means less money from taxes. In the long run, this may lead to the scenario where many online casinos won’t bother with renewing the Swedish license, as it won’t be payable at all.
What Sweden learn from Portugal?
Since 2015, the Portuguese online gambling market has been regulated in a similar way to Sweden’s example: https://www.srij.turismodeportugal.pt/en/online-gambling/legal-regime/. But the situation in Portugal is somewhat different.
As demonstrated on Foxbonus, the bonuses in Portugal are set freely by the online casinos and are generous compared to Sweden. The operators still need to have a gambling license and pay tax in Portugal, but they are not limited in the same way as in Sweden (they can even offer no deposit free spin bonuses). The Portuguese players naturally select online casinos with local licenses because they don’t need to look further to get an attractive welcome bonus.
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