IS BETTING LEGAL IN SWEDEN?

Online betting has been legal in Sweden since the Swedish Gambling Act was passed in 2018. This act regulates the online gaming landscape in this Scandinavian country, including everything from operating licenses to the betting tax.

According to the Gambling Act, an online sportsbook that wants to get an operating license in Sweden needs to pay a licensing fee, as well as an 18% tax on gross revenue. So far, more than 60 bookmakers have received the license that allows them to offer their services in Sweden.

Still, this doesn’t mean that the bettors from Sweden are obliged to use only those bookmakers. Swedish players can bet at any licensed online bookmaker, without any legal consequences. It doesn’t matter where the license is issued, the only thing that matters is that the bookmaker has one.

If you’re wondering how to figure out which bookmakers have a legit license, you can look for licensing info on the website of the operator. If you’re not sure how to do that, a shortcut to finding licensed bookmakers is by taking a look at the Oddshero-approved operators. This Matched Betting tool only works with legitimate bookmakers that carry real gambling licenses.

BETTING TAXES IN SWEDEN

You are allowed to bet at foreign bookmakers, however, there is a caveat – your winnings are subject to a betting tax. Such a thing does not exist with those bookmakers that are licensed in Sweden. You also don’t have to pay the betting tax if you are betting at a bookmaker based in the European Union or the United Kingdom.

However, if you would like to bet at a bookmaker that has an offshore license, such as the ones issued in a Caribbean nation like the Bahamas or Curacao, you will have to pay a 30% tax on your winnings. The same goes for Asian bookmakers, which are often used by Matched Bettors thanks to their attractive odds.

The good news is that this doesn’t mean Swedish bettors should give up on Matched Betting. There are plenty of online bookmakers based in the UK and the EU that you can use for this purpose.

BEST BOOKMAKERS TO USE

There is a lot to take into considerations when deciding which bookmaker to use, such as the bookmaker’s margin, the customer service, the welcome bonus and so on.

As a Swedish citizen there are a bunch of different bookmakers you can use, send us a chat if you have any questions regarding bookmakers in your country!

Here are 3 of the most popular ones:

Svenskaspel Oddset:The most used bookmaker in all of Sweden. They hold a monopoly in the same was as Norsk Tipping holds a monopoly in Norway. The odds aren’t the greatest, but they are trustworthy, have good customer support and have an easy deposit/withdraw section.

Bethard: Using Sweden’s best footballer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their commercials, Bethard know how to entice the Swedish people. They are a great bookie for beginners and give out a 100% bonus up to €125. The payment method is really easy, and the most important part, their odds are really high.

Bet365:The biggest of all European bookies and the most visited one. Being the biggest they have a large selection of games, both pre-match and live betting, from numerous leagues and countries.

They have the biggest selection of niche sports, so if you’re into Gaelic sports, darts and surfing this is the site for you. The odds are not the best though, and if you win a lot, they are unfortunately quick to limit you.

They have a pretty good sign-up bonus of up to a €100, which we will come back to later, and a good website for getting in a lot of value bets. You can use our Matched Betting software called Oddshero to turn over the Bet365 bonus for free!

BEST WELCOME BONUSES

There are several things you need to consider when choosing a bookmakers bonus for your sports betting adventure.

First of all, the bookmakers you pick all need to be licensed in your country. Secondly, they need to give away amazing welcome bonuses. Finally, they also need to have a website that’s available in your language, the good thing is that most Swedes know how to speak English.

If you are a bettor from Sweden, here are a couple of online bookmakers that match all the criteria discussed previously:

Bet365:

Not only do Bet365 accept players from Sweden, but they also give them a welcome present. It comes in the form of a 100% match deposit bonus up to 1,000 SEK which you can turn over for free with the help of Oddshero.

Betsson:

Betsson is one of the biggest sportsbook operators in the world. Not only does it accept players from Sweden, but they also give them a welcome present. It comes in the form of a 100% match deposit bonus up to 1,000 SEK

Mr. Green:

The same Swedish creators behind Betsson are the same people that created Mr.Green. The welcome bonus isn’t the biggest, but it might be one of the easiest to turn over. They offer a free bet up to €50.

(AS OF 14th OF MAY, 2020)

SOMETHING INTERESTING

Sports betting is extremely popular in Sweden and definitely more popular than you think! Statistics say that every Swede over the age of 18, gamble away more than 2 800 SEK each year! That’s around $300 US per Swede, every year!

If that wasn’t enough, every Swede plays for around 7 500 SEK every year. The most common age group that plays are between 30-49 years old, and it’s actually close to 50/50 between men and women.

Anyways, you could say that sports betting in Sweden is insanely popular, so why not make a profit while doing it?

Want to know more about matched betting with our other software Oddshero? Check out this article here.

Check out the similarities between sports betting and poker.