Online Gambling Revenues in Sweden See 0.8 Percent Year-on-Year Growth 1st Quarter 2026

• Sweden online gambling growth year-over-year came in at 0.8% for the first quarter of 2026 with even stronger numbers for commercial online gaming at 2.6 percent growth

• The revenue increase is likely fueled by Sweden's increasingly mobile-focused and streamlined approach by operators 

• Sweden's qualification in this year's World Cup should propel yet another increase for the current quarter year-over-year

Sweden has seen some modest growth in its online gambling sector for the first quarter of 2026.  

Gaming companies with a Swedish license wagered SEK 6.7 billion in the first quarter, which represents an 0.8% year-over-year increase. 

Perhaps most telling of all, commercial online gaming, which includes casino and sports betting, accounted for SEK4.44bn in revenue. This represented the most dramatic increase of 3.4% above the prior year.

At the end of the quarter, nearly 138 000 individuals who opted for self-inclusion were suspended via Spelpaus.se, which is an increase of 2.6 percent from the previous quarter.

casinor.com is one of many websites that provide information about online casinos accessible from Sweden.

Sweden's More Tightly Regulated But Competitive Online Gambling Market

New market entry opportunities were observed for online casinos looking to cater to Swedish gamblers over the last 12 months. Granted, that also came with tougher enforcement of those sites operating outside the regulatory framework. 

In the table below you will find the top 10 online casinos in Sweden right now.

The modest 0.8% increase in revenues reflects Sweden's increasingly mobile-focused and streamlined approach by operators emphasizing:

• more seamless withdrawal process,
• mobile-first platforms,
• BankID login integration,
• improved security through stronger identity verification

Gambling Trends in Sweden Over the Past 12 Months

Some of the more interesting trends in the sector over the past 12 months included: 

• Online casino + sports betting: amounting to 64% of total gambling revenue
• Lotteries accounted for approximately 20% of all gambling revenues in the country
• Horse racing still plays a role but a decline was seen over the past 12 months
• Land-based casinos are practically irrelevant with the closure of Casino Cosmopol

The downturn in horse racing is driven primarily by increased gambling taxes and shifting consumer habits as well as stricter regulations.  Operational challenges that affect the broader equestrian workforce have also played a critical role in the downward shift. 

Sweden’s main gambling tax increase took effect on July 1, 2024 with the government raising the gambling tax from 18% to 22% of gross gaming revenue (GGR).

There is now an industry fight over whether horse racing should receive a reduced preferential rate again as many industry observers view this sector as being more vulnerable to higher gambling taxes as a result of operating on much thinner profit margins than online casinos.

The Swedish Gambling Authority does not typically break down data by gambling sectors or games (i.e. slots, blackjack, sports bets), though we do know that State lotteries + Vegas slot machines had accounted for SEK 5.5 billion in 2025.

Below is a generally accepted breakdown of the eight most popular gambling activities in Sweden over the past 12 months: 

1. Slots
2. Sports betting (especially soccer)
3. Live casino games
4. Blackjack
5. Roulette
6. Baccarat
7. Poker
8. Horse racing betting

Sweden's FIFA World Cup Qualification 

June of this year will be critical for the Swedish sports gambling sector as the nation has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

They will take on Tunisia, Netherlands and Japan in the first stage (Group F). 

While Sweden is viewed as a longshot, the squad is considered dangerous enough to advance out of the Group F stage. 

The World Cup itself is forecast to become one of the largest betting events globally and those in Sweden won't stop betting simply because their team might fail to advance. 

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar generated somewhere between $35 billion and well over $100 billion globally in betting turnover.  Those numbers varied wildly due to the substantial number of bets placed in the so-called "grey" or "black" markets. 

While Swedish regulators did not publicly release a dedicated “World Cup total handle” figure, France alone reported roughly €900 million in total World Cup betting activity across online and retail wagering while the United States, which is one of the three host countries this year, projected at around $1.8 billion in wagers, according to the American Gaming Association.  This latter number did not include "grey" or "black" market betting.  

Sweden last appeared in the FIFA World Cup in 2018 where they advanced to the quarter-finals, losing to England, but shocking the world with a win over heavily favored Mexico. 

• B.E. Delmer, Gambling911.com