Sweden Wants to Have Online Gambling Cake and Eat It Too
Sweden has seen how government revenues surge when gambling taxes are allowed to increase by loosening laws, so consideration is being given to allowing foreign gaming companies to locate within the country. However, the Swedes don't want to lose any of the income from the state-run online gambling operations, so new companies would receive a license only to book sports bets.
The Swedish state monopoly already deals in online poker and Internet sports booking, so restricting IP addresses and blocking payment methods may be methods used to protect the state income.
New betting operators would not be able to do more land business than running the sports books, said Jan Nyren, head of the Swedish gambling control commission. This precludes opening casinos or installing gaming devices, including slot machines.
If private operators are allowed into the market, the government is expected to closely monitor operations and tighten rules, especially substantially increasing penalties for allowing underage participation. The government may review the plan by December.
