Sweden struggles to drive online casino channelization past 84%

Sweden continues to flounder its pace in the iGaming market. The country’s main unaddressed challenge remains its online casino sector, which has failed to improve in terms of how many local players opt for regulated operators versus the black market.

The latest report by the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has reaffirmed that this struggle continues, as channelizaton across verticals reached 84% in 2025, below the 85% reported in 2024, and a further slip from the 86% reported back in 2023. Interestingly, the country has not struggled as much to bring sports fans to the regulated market, with the vertical reporting a 96% channelization rate, whereas the online casino sector was channelized at only 81% - a further dip when considering the segment on its own. The channelization rate in 2025 is estimated at 84%, which shows that a majority of Swedish gambling continues to take place at operators with a Swedish licence, commented Spel inspektionen Acting Director General Johan Röhr. Importantly, the Spelinspektionen looked into the specific reasons as to why players end up using the black market, despite the implied and well-established risks to consumer safety, personal and financial information. Among the players who turned to the black market were an increasing number of people who have self-excluded from gambling through the Spelpaus and have turned to the unregulated market to circumvent this restriction. This is, in fact, the most common reason to turn to the black market, which should raise a red flag with the ongoing efforts by policymakers to shield vulnerable consumers, and especially the group of people who are actively playing at online casinos. Another cohort of offshore players, though, pointed out that they believed the games offered by those alternative platforms simply offered better theoretical returns to their players, making them more attractive.

With some 2,186 unlicensed gambling websites flagged by Spelinspektionen, 42% of those were tied to skin betting, the in-game cosmetics available in specific games that surprisingly can sell for several hundred dollars, or even thousands. In the meantime, the determined channelization rates may not be final, and there could actually be further challenges to the accuracy of the cited numbers. Several trade bodies have already raised concerns, including the horseracing monopoly - ATG. Notably, the ATG said that the channelization during the final quarter of 2025 was in fact much lower - anything between 74% and 85%. The disparity of figures mostly comes from the fact that any survey has to estimate and extrapolate. Many gamblers may not be reporting that they are gambling offshore, as they fear it would attract stigma, and are not willing to share this information. With black markets not offering information to regulators, the estimates continue to be free-floating.