Swedish government faces push back on GGR increase

Content Team September 22, 2023

Sweden’s government has announced plans to raise the gambling tax from 18 percent to 22 percent applicable to Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR).

This proposal is set to take effect on July 1st 2024 with a projected SEK 540m annual increase expected in addition to Sweden’s current tax revenue.

This decision is based on the belief that the Swedish gambling market has stabilised since the re-regulation inaugurated in 2019 which saw licensed operators authorised to offer services to Sweden.

Government concerns

The Swedish government is attempting to address increasing concerns regarding channelisation rates in Sweden and has forecast that a tax rate exceeding 20 percent will be a step in achieving upwards of 90 percent channelisation.

Swedish government faces push back on GGR increase. — Rikstag, Stockholm, Sweden.

Additionally, the current tax rate will have been in place for almost 5 years when it is replaced, with the government seeing the need to increase in order to support government activities without overly impacting companies or the tax base.

Criticisms

The Online Gaming Industry Association ( BOS) has criticised this new tax proposal expressing disappointment as well as concern with regard to the government’s understanding of the market’s vulnerabilities as well as its projected dynamics.

Contrary to the government’s predictions, BOS has emphasised that an increase in tax would in actual fact decrease the channelisation rates.

In actual fact, BOS’ own research has shown that 77 percent of Sweden’s online gaming market is channelised, considered critically low.

The new tax rate is seen as a massive step back, perhaps prompting a return to the 2019 rates that caused the incited the initial re-regulation, with the BOS stating:

“Sweden’s government must perform much better than this. There is still time to withdraw the proposal.”

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