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BOS rejects the government’s proposal to raise the gambling tax

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The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) today submits its advisory statement to the Ministry of Finance on the memorandum “Increased gambling tax”.

The memorandum proposes an increase in gambling tax from 18% to 22%, to apply from 1 July 2024. BOS rejects the proposal.

– The government can hardly time its proposal to raise the gambling tax to a worse time. We are in a situation where fewer and fewer players choose to play on the safe licensed market, and more and more on the unregulated, unlicensed gambling market. That the government proposes to raise the tax for licensed gambling is the best Christmas present you can think of – to the unregulated and unlicensed gambling market, says Gustaf Hoffstedt.

The memorandum in English can be found below:

Referral statement Fi2023/02665, Increased gambling tax

About BOS
The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) is here issuing its opinion on
the memorandum “Increased gambling tax”, in which it is proposed that the excise tax
on gambling be increased from 18 to 22 percent as of July 1, 2024.
BOS represents twenty gambling companies that operate on the Swedish gambling
market.1 This makes us the largest trade association in Sweden within our industry. All
members have a license/permit issued by Spelinspektionen.

BOS recommendation

BOS rejects the proposal to raise the gambling tax.
Our motives for the rejection
The goal of the gambling market, as described by the government, “is a healthy and
safe gambling market under public control”. In addition, according to the government,
revenues for the common good must be protected, the negative consequences of
gambling must be reduced, gambling for money must be covered by strong consumer
protection and cannot be misused for criminal activities.
BOS believes that the proposal for a tax increase is in conflict with all of the government’s stated goals for the gambling market. It is connected with the fact that the implementation of a tax increase on gambling will lead to a reduced channelization to the
Swedish regulated gambling market, something that is also expressed by several other
reference bodies, including the Swedish Gambling Authority.

In contrast, the un-licensed and not infrequently illegal gambling market in Sweden will gain market share
if the proposal to raise the gambling tax is implemented.

It is connected with the fact that a tax increase on licensed gambling further
strengthens the competitiveness of unlicensed gambling in Sweden, which
correspondingly increases in attractiveness when Swedish gambling consumers have
to make decisions about where their gambling will take place. A product subject to
high tax is less attractive than a comparable product subject to low or no tax.
Channelization
The concept of channelization refers to what proportion of Swedes’ gambling takes
place on the licensed market designated by the state, and what proportion takes place
on the unlicensed market in Sweden. Ideally, all gambling should take place on the
licensed market, but in practice this is impossible to achieve, especially when it comes
to online gambling, which by its very nature is cross-border. Sweden’s unofficial
channelization target has therefore been set at 90 percent. In other words, it is
acceptable (but not desirable) with a leakage to the unlicensed gambling market of no
more than 10 percent. If the leakage becomes greater than that, the goals of the
gambling policy are considered to be unachievable.
Unfortunately, Sweden’s channelization target must now be described as “unofficial”,
with reference to the fact that the government seems to have distanced itself from the
target in recent years. What was initially a clearly defined goal from both the government and the Riksdag, at least in the political debate, has in recent years rather been referred to as an expectation, assessment or forecast.
To the extent that a government and Riksdag decision is needed to establish Sweden’s
90 percent target, we strongly recommend that the government take this initiative,
and thus not distance itself from this gambling policy goal by calling it something other
than a goal or objective (for example assessment). It is in the government’s own
interest that there is a channelization goal and any way to distance oneself from this
harms the government and the legitimacy of the licensing system, and what is worse
harms Sweden’s gambling consumers.
The reason why the government should under no circumstances undermine the goal of
at least 90 percent channelization is that a high ditto is a basic prerequisite for all other
goals of gambling policy. A high channelization goal is a goal to reach all other goals.
These other goals can be summarized as:
– That consumer protection is strong
– That unhealthy gambling is kept to the lowest possible level
– That crime is pushed back
– That the state receives good tax revenue from gambling
– That the licensed gambling companies have good profitability and good conditions
– That the licensing system has high legitimacy
The government states as a motive for raising the tax that “[t]he current tax rate of 18
percent has applied since the Swedish gambling market was reregulated in 2019. The
gambling market has since stabilized, and channelization has increased significantly.”
It is a claim and a description of reality that we dare to say that the government is
quite alone. In the memorandum, the government presents no more recent figures
than those presented by the Swedish Agency for Public Management (Swe: Statskontoret), which originate from 2021, in a report on the gambling market.
It is unfortunate that the state has not produced more recent data than this, and it is
unfortunate that the government has not taken on board new data presented by
actors other than the state. BOS was able to show half a year ago that the
channelization in March 2023 was 77 percent for all competitive gambling (that is, all
gambling not protected by monopoly).
It is a channelization that testifies that the Swedish licensing market is in a very serious situation.
The BOS report also broke down the competitive gambling market into its various
components, such as sports betting and online casino. The gambling vertical online
casino, along with online poker, showed the very weakest channelization at 72 percent. That in such a situation there is no room for measures that further damage
channelization – which a tax increase on gambling does – should be obvious.
In addition to BOS’s channelization report, which was carried out by opinion institute
SKOP, the gambling company ATG has had the channelization measured using a
different methodology and presented it in a report. ATG’s measurement mirrors the
BOS report in terms of channelization in general in the gambling market (only 1
percentage point separates the two measurements). On the other hand, the ATG measurement shows an even worse position for the gambling vertical online casino.

Considering ATG’s channelization report, where channelization has fallen dramatically
since the Swedish re-regulation in 2019, it is difficult to even know how to relate to the
government’s claim that “[the] gambling market has since stabilized, and
channelization has increased significantly.” In a later report from ATG, which extends
to Q3 2023, channelization has further fallen to 70 percent channelization for the overall license market and 59 percent channelization for online casino.7
In addition to the above quote from the government testifying that the government
simply lacks a basis for its claim, it demonstrates another, general, shortcoming in the
government’s memorandum: the lack of data, basis, preparation, and analysis.
Examples of the absence of analysis concern the proposal’s impact on the media and
the sports movement. Both of these social actors are major recipients of money from
the gambling industry. A cost increase for the licensed gambling industry of SEK 0.5
billion annually (the increased tax revenue estimated by the government) has to come
from somewhere, and this will by all accounts happen at least in part through reduced
advertising in traditional media and reduced sports sponsorship. The government has
nothing to say about how the media and the sports movement are affected by the government’s proposal. There are no impact analyzes in the government’s memorandum on this.
Through advertisements in, for example, the daily press and sponsorship of sports
teams, awareness of the brands of the licensed betting companies is increased. Such
marketing and sponsorship thus promote the Swedish gambling market, in that
licensed gambling companies are top of mind when the gambling consumer chooses
an operator for its gambling. In addition, of course, the money from the gambling
industry is of great use in the daily recruitment of both sports associations and newsrooms, for their respective important tasks in our democratic society.
The government’s memorandum is not only incomplete in that it does not highlight
and analyze the consequences for important social actors. In addition, the small
approach to analysis that is actually presented in the memorandum seems to be
poorly executed. The government calculates the expected increased tax revenue at
SEK 539 million. There is no calculation for increased costs for the expected increased
gambling addiction, as a consequence of players migrating to unlicensed gambling, in
the analysis. In addition, there is a complete lack of calculations on the extent of lost
tax revenue due to the fact that the tax increase results in reduced channelization, as
well as in general reduced gambling on the license market because the price of
gambling products is raised.
With regard to price sensitivity (price elasticity), the figure -0.5 is used in the memo –
that is, not price sensitive – which is information taken from the inquiry “A reregulated
gambling market”. The information in the inquiry in turn refers to an external report
from 2014 from Great Britain.8 However, the UK document indicates a higher price
elasticity for certain gambling products, including online casino with a figure of -1.5
(high price sensitivity), but this fact – that gambling decreases when the price of
certain gambling products is increased – is completely omitted from the government’s
memorandum. The government’s estimated increase in tax revenues of just over SEK
0.5 billion annually therefore appears to be pure wishful thinking based on incorrect
assumptions.

Optimal tax rate

On behalf of BOS, in 2016 the consulting firm Copenhagen Economics had an optimal
tax level calculated for Swedish conditions, ahead of the Swedish re-regulation in
2019.9 As far as we know, it is the most detailed investigation that has been done based on Swedish conditions, and the report had a noticeable impact on the government’s and the Riksdag’s decision to set the gambling tax at 18 percent gross gaming
revenue.
Copenhagen’s Economics report presents an optimal range for the state to stay within,
15-20 percent. A tax rate above 20 percent means lost channelization, but also in the
long term reduced tax revenue, in accordance with a classic Laffer curve. There is no
reason to believe that the state can now, compared to the years before the Swedish
reregulation of the gambling market, be able to deviate from the presented tax range
without damaging the license market. On the contrary, today’s critically low
channelization bears witness that the tax in this sensitive situation should under no
circumstances be increased. Instead, the government and the Riksdag should urgently
devote themselves to reforms that strengthen channelization.

Reforms that strengthen channelization

In this context, BOS would like to conclude by raising a finger of warning for the superstition we see when governments – the current one as well as the previous one – propose new repressive measures on the gambling market. Repressive measures aim to
make it difficult for and exclude unlicensed gambling companies from the Swedish
gambling market. Examples of such measures are so-called B2B permits, payment
blocks and bans on promoting unlicensed operators.
We are generally positive about such measures, and we see their complementary task
as absolutely crucial to succeed in maintaining a high channelization. Complementary
in the sense of reinforcing a gambling license market that is fundamentally perceived
as attractive by the player collective. We object, however, to the fact that governments seem to live in the delusion that the attractiveness of the gambling license
market can be worsened (for example, by raising the gambling tax) without this
worsening the channelization, as long as the deterioration is met with repressive
measures to shut out unlicensed gambling. All experience, from Sweden and a number
of jurisdictions where our members operate, shows that this is an incorrect
assumption. In addition, governments tend to mortgage strengthened channelization
through intensified repression already in advance, not infrequently before the
repressive measures have even been put into effect.
Repressive measures strengthen and promote the licensed gambling market when this
is fundamentally perceived as attractive by the player collective. It is the customers
who decide whether the gambling should take place on the licensed market or not. No
countermeasures in the world, at least in the democracies of the Western world, can
stop the outflow of gambling consumers if the consumers do not consider that the
gambling offer they are given on the license market is sufficiently attractive.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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WSOP® PARADISE 2025 TO BREAK RECORDS AGAIN WITH $60M-GUARANTEED SUPER MAIN EVENT

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The World Series of Poker winter series boasts the biggest prize guarantee in live poker history 

The World Series of Poker (WSOP®) today revealed electrifying details of its highly anticipated WSOP Paradise winter tournament series, headlined by the $60,000,000-guaranteed Super Main Event – the largest prize guarantee in live poker tournament history. This monumental series is set to transform Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas into poker’s ultimate winter playground from Dec. 4 through Dec. 18, hosted in exclusive partnership with GGPoker, the World’s Biggest Poker Room, and Triton, the leading high-stakes tournament organiser.

This third annual iteration of the WSOP Paradise festival will again showcase an unparalleled set of high roller and super high roller events. The tournament schedule will be jointly curated and hosted by WSOP and Triton Poker, ensuring a world-class experience for all players.

The festival’s undisputed crown jewel is the No Limit Hold’em Super Main Event Championship, with a buy-in of $25K. This record-setting tournament boasts an astounding $60,000,000 prize guarantee – a full $10,000,000 higher than last year’s landmark event. In 2024, Yinan Zhou famously outlasted a 1,977 field to claim his first coveted WSOP bracelet and the $6M winner’s prize.

Other festival highlights include:

  • Event #1: WSOP Circuit Championship Mystery Bounty (Dec. 4) – $2,500 buy-in (all WSOP Circuit ring event winners from July 1 through Dec 2. will receive an exclusive $5K Ticket to Paradise package that includes entry to Event #1)
  • Event #3: Triton Pot Limit Omaha Main Event (Dec. 5) – $100K buy-in
  • Event #5: Triton Invitational (Dec. 7) – $250K buy-in (the field will be evenly split between invited players from the worlds of business and entertainment, and their professional poker player guests)
  • Event #9: Triton No Limit Hold’em Main Event (Dec. 9) – $100K buy-in
  • Event #14: GGMillion$ (Dec. 15) – $25K buy-in – $10M prize guarantee

 

“They called us crazy last year for launching the Super Main Event with the biggest live tournament guarantee ever, so consider this a re-raise,” said Ty Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of WSOP. “WSOP Paradise is here to stay, and we’re making poker history once again, with the $60,000,000 guarantee and some new signature events. The expanded partnership with Triton, alongside the new Super Mystery Bounty kickoff event, headlines what is a can’t-miss winter festival.”

Daniel Negreanu, GGPoker Global Ambassador, added: “I said last year that a $50M guarantee for the Super Main Event was crazy – adding another $10,000,000 on top is freaking insane! WSOP is bringing the biggest high rollers and the best poker experience possible back to Paradise, and I cannot wait to be part of it.”

“We’re thrilled to return to WSOP Paradise and bring the Triton experience back to this part of the world,” said Andy Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Triton Poker Series. “WSOP Paradise is a truly exciting stop for us at Triton, and we’re proud to be part of it once again.”

“Each year, WSOP Paradise at Atlantis Paradise Island continues to soar. From the electric atmosphere and high-stakes drama to the passionate fans and unforgettable moments, the tournament is quickly becoming the can’t-miss, most sought-after event of the poker season. With ever-growing prize pools — including a record-breaking $60 million guarantee for the Super Main Event — all set against the iconic backdrop of the world-renowned Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, there’s truly nothing else like it,” said Joe Brunini, Chief Gaming & Customer Development Officer, Atlantis Paradise Island.

Players can satellite into the WSOP Paradise Super Main Event exclusively at GGPoker, with Road to Paradise qualifier tournaments already live in the GGPoker tournament lobby and more qualifier options set to launch in the coming weeks with WSOP Express. Winning players will secure a $30K WSOP Paradise Super Main Event package, which includes their SME $25K buy-in, discounted accommodation at the exclusive Atlantis Paradise Island resort, complimentary meals, and more.

To kick off the Road to Paradise in true style, WSOP is happy to announce that the player who is knocked out on the prize bubble in this year’s WSOP 2025 $10K Main Event in Las Vegas will be awarded a $30K WSOP Paradise Super Main Event package, instantly transforming the Bubble Boy’s moment of bad luck into a second shot at glory.

The full WSOP Paradise 2025 daily schedule will be revealed later this year. The WSOP reserves the right to cancel, change, or modify the tournament or any tournament event, in part or in whole, without notice.

Please follow @WSOP on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or check WSOP.com for more event news and updates. More information about this year’s Road to Paradise and WSOP Express qualifiers will be revealed at GGPoker.com in the near future.

The post WSOP® PARADISE 2025 TO BREAK RECORDS AGAIN WITH $60M-GUARANTEED SUPER MAIN EVENT appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Fruity King Launches Bingo Offering Through Strategic Partnership with Playtech

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Fruity King partners with iGaming titan Playtech to bring a diversity of new bingo options for its player base to enjoy.

Fruity King, a well-established name in the UK online casino market and operated by ProgressPlay, has officially launched its all-new bingo product, made possible through a newly announced partnership between ProgressPlay and Playtech, one of the world’s leading gambling technology companies.

The new bingo offering is powered by Playtech Bingo, one of the largest and most respected bingo networks globally. Through this integration, Fruity King players can now enjoy an elevated bingo experience, complete with a wide range of game formats, jackpot options, social rooms, and mobile-optimised features – all accessible directly via the Fruity King Bingo platform.

This partnership is a significant milestone for both companies and underscores ProgressPlay’s ongoing commitment to innovation and product diversification within the online gaming sector. It also marks an exciting new chapter for Fruity King as the brand evolves from a slots and casino-focused site into a more well-rounded, multi-vertical platform.

“We’re excited to bring a fresh bingo experience to our players with the backing of Playtech’s best-in-class technology and network,” said a Fruity King spokesperson. “This launch strengthens our commitment to delivering top-tier entertainment and expands our game offering in a way that reflects what UK players want — quality, variety, and trust.”

Fruity King’s bingo section offers a selection of 90-ball and 75-ball bingo alongside exclusive rooms, community chat features, and daily jackpot draws. These are hosted within Playtech’s established network, which is trusted by leading UK operators and attracts tens of thousands of players daily.

The integration also ensures compatibility across devices, with seamless play on desktop, tablet, and mobile, and is fully supported by responsible gaming features in line with UKGC requirements.

The move aligns with broader trends in the UK iGaming space, where bingo remains a strong growth category, especially among mobile-first users seeking more social and casual gaming experiences. Fruity King’s entry into the space is timely, strategic, and designed to enhance both acquisition and retention metrics across its player base.

As part of the rollout, Fruity King will also support the bingo launch with dedicated promotions, onboarding offers, and cross-vertical incentives for existing slot and table game players.

 

The post Fruity King Launches Bingo Offering Through Strategic Partnership with Playtech appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Movers and Shakers – Beyond integration: Why system interoperability is the real game changer

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Movers and Shakers” is a dynamic monthly column dedicated to exploring the latest trends, developments, and influential voices in the iGaming industry. Powered by GameOn and supported by HIPTHER, this op-ed series delves into the key players, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes shaping the future of online gaming. Each month, industry experts offer their insights and perspectives, providing readers with in-depth analysis and thought-provoking commentary on what’s driving the iGaming world forward. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or new to the scene, “Movers and Shakers” is your go-to source for staying ahead in the rapidly evolving iGaming landscape.

 

Dominic Le Garsmeur (CPO) at Fincore, says integrations without a clear interoperability strategy add technical and operational debt, hampering future growth.

System integrations are hugely important for any online sportsbook or casino, adding capabilities and features to drive growth.  But integrating without considering and optimising interoperability can do more harm than good by adding technical and operational debt to the business and ultimately hitting growth.

Integrating without interoperability pushes information from one system to another, but the connection itself has no intelligence. It’s a mechanical link, and the systems remain fundamentally separate, each operating with its own distinct rules. Any real understanding, like why that data was sent or what other processes it should trigger, is lost, creating data silos that are technically connected but strategically disconnected.

System interoperability provides the intelligence the connection lacks, establishing a shared operational model for the platform so all systems can act in concert. Most importantly, it creates a future-proof foundation, allowing new capabilities and features to be added with agility and confidence, turning the platform into an engine for innovation rather than a source of technical debt.

Before looking at why interoperability is more powerful than integration, and how companies can solve it, it’s important to understand how disconnects between platforms and systems occur in the first place.

 

Why does disconnection happen?

Operators acquire their tech stacks in different ways, but usually through a combination of building, inheriting legacy tech, acquisition and third-party providers. This often leads to platform and system silos with little to no compatibility between them.

Ultimately, disconnected systems drag down delivery and without interoperability, companies waste time reconciling platforms and tech rather than advancing forward.

 

Interoperability is more powerful than integration

Integration often means linking systems at a basic level, but interoperability ensures that data, logic and workflows are aligned and extensible.

It’s critical to have a strategic data layer and shared data structures that enables standardising of data representations, aligning systems at the logic level, not just the interface, and building an architecture designed to unify and extend across platforms.

In complex industries such as gaming, where tech plays such an important role in the user experience and the trust consumers have in brands, system interoperability is the only way to scale with control. In short, integration links, interoperability empowers.

 

Why interoperability is such a challenge in the gaming industry

Each integration is unique. Why? Because the combination of legacy systems, niche vendors and varying regulations in markets across the world means there is no blueprint for operators to follow.

Remember, most operator platforms are now decades old and were not built with modularity or openness in mind. And even those developing new platforms and systems from scratch often lack the in-house capability to design for interoperability from the get-go.

 

The risk of not achieving interoperability

When systems don’t interoperate, things start to fall apart. For example, delivery can grind to a halt, with every new feature launch or market entry becoming a grind. There are compliance risks, too, especially when it comes to fractured data and an increased risk of errors and audit gaps.

Then, of course, there is the poor player experience that will be provided. This could be anything from glitchy games to failed deposits and even the wrong marketing communications being sent to the wrong player cohorts.

It also impacts an operator’s ability to develop and innovate, as IT and tech become reactive rather than proactive. And in such a competitive market, this can see a brand quickly fall behind the curve.

 

How to solve the interoperability conundrum

Ensuring interoperability is a complex and comprehensive undertaking, but there are some high-level things operators can do.

This starts with standardising critical data flows and logic, not just the interface. Remember, a single view of data is what ensures all the platforms, systems and networks communicate with each other in the same language.

Operators should also design for change, as architecture must support long-term growth and plug-and-play modularity. In most cases, it’s best to invest in strategic partners, not just tools.

 

How strategic partners can help

Partners such as Fincore can provide the strategic clarity operators need, defining what interoperability looks like for them and based on their business goals. We also bring execution muscle – we don’t just design it, we build it.

The right partner also brings compliance confidence. Companies such as Fincore are highly experienced when it comes to interoperability, and everything we do stands up to regulatory scrutiny.

This can be seen in our proven track record for delivering interoperability for everything from complex migrations to global-scale game roll-outs.

 

A real-world example of interoperability

Fincore worked with a US-based gaming services provider whose legacy systems across its land-based venues had created silos in payments, loyalty and in-resort experiences.

The solution we proposed saw us design and deliver a digital wallet that became the unified digital layer across the physical properties. We also integrated deeply with multiple rigid legacy systems to provide secure and compliant interoperability at scale.

The result? We delivered on time, unlocked a new digital product line and created a long-term tech foundation for the company to continue to build on.

When it comes to integrations, you can always wire systems together, but if you don’t do it in the right way, you get chaos. Interoperability is about creating order within platforms and systems, which in turn allows for unlimited scaling and growth.

And that’s why interoperability is the real game-changer.

The post Movers and Shakers – Beyond integration: Why system interoperability is the real game changer appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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