The Swedish Gambling Authority has released new supervision fee regulations, SIFS 2026:1, which will come into force on 1 March 2026. SIFS refers to Spelinspektionen’s official code of statutes, where the regulator publishes its rules and regulations. The updated framework replaces SIFS 2024:4 and sets out how licence holders and gambling software permit holders must pay regulatory oversight fees across the country’s licensed gambling market.
The regulations establish the legal basis for supervision fees under Chapter 16, Section 13 of the Gambling Ordinance (2018:1475) and apply to any entity holding a licence or permit for gambling software under the Gambling Act (2018:1138). The rules define who must pay, how fees are calculated and when payments are due, while providing a detailed fee schedule covering lotteries, online gaming, betting, land-based casinos, bingo, ship-based gambling and gambling software.
Under the new framework, the licence holder or gambling software permit holder is responsible for paying supervision fees to the Swedish Gambling Authority. Fees are charged per licence, meaning operators with multiple licences must pay separately for each one.
The regulations define the fee period as the first 12 months from the date a licence or permit is granted, followed by successive 12-month periods throughout the licence term. For temporary bingo, the fee period corresponds to the length of the licence. If a licence lasts less than a year, the fee is calculated proportionally for the period covered, with a minimum charge of one twelfth of the annual fee. Fees also apply if a licence continues following a court decision or legal extension.
Fees must generally be paid in advance against invoice for the fee period, while fees linked to licence extensions are payable in arrears. The regulator may reduce or fully waive the fee if exceptional reasons are deemed to exist.
The annex to SIFS 2026:1 provides a detailed breakdown of supervision fees across licence categories, now presented in US dollars for international comparison.
A licence to provide a state lottery or gaming on value machines under Chapter 5 of the Gambling Act carries a fee of about 95,000 US dollars per fee period.
For lotteries run for public benefit purposes under Chapter 6, fees are tiered according to annual turnover. Operators with turnover up to SEK 3 million will pay SEK 15,000 ($1,400). Those with turnover between SEK 3 million and SEK 10 million will pay SEK 30,000 ($2,800). Operators with turnover between SEK 10 million and SEK 100 million will pay SEK 60,000 ($5,700). Those with turnover between SEK 100 million and SEK 1 billion will pay SEK 250,000 ($23,800). Operators with turnover above SEK 1 billion will pay SEK 600,000 ($57,000).
Bingo for public benefit purposes costs SEK 20,500 ($1,950) per venue when run in a dedicated bingo hall, while temporary bingo licences cost SEK 1,000 ($95).
A commercial online gaming or betting licence under Chapters 7 or 8 is set at SEK 240,000 ($22,800) per licence. For land- based gambling under Chapter 9, goods gaming licences cost SEK 3,000 ($285). Casino gaming with up to five venues also costs SEK 3,000 ($285). Casino gaming with six to ten venues costs SEK 20,000 ($1,900). Casino gaming with eleven to one hundred venues costs SEK 40,000 ($3,800). Casino gaming with more than one hundred venues costs SEK 850,000 ($80,800). Ship-based gambling licences cost SEK 6,000 ($570) per vessel, while gambling software permits cost SEK 16,500 ($1,570).
The new fee framework comes at a time when gambling participation in Sweden remains high. The Swedish Gambling Authority’s latest annual survey found that 72 percent of Swedes gambled for money in 2025. Around 18 percent of the population qualifies as online casino players, underlining the mainstream status of digital gambling.
Despite widespread participation, trust remains fragile. Around 34 percent of online casino players say they sometimes or often suspect that outcomes at Swedish licensed casinos are manipulated.
Research conducted by CasinoFeber and the independent institute Reflect shows a significant knowledge gap among players. A total of 65 percent of respondents said they do not know how to check whether a casino holds a Swedish licence. Offshore gambling remains a notable challenge, with 18 percent reporting that they played on casinos without a Swedish licence in the past year. This continues to test Sweden’s goal of maintaining high channelisation within the licensed market.
The research highlights shifting consumer priorities. Fast withdrawals were ranked as the most important factor when choosing a casino site, ahead of bonuses. Nearly a quarter of players said they do not tell anyone they gamble online.
Sports betting is also expanding. Betting on horse races rose to 44 percent from 38 percent, while sports betting overall increased to 30 percent from 19 percent. Meanwhile, 42 percent of respondents said they gamble in the hope of winning big, a motivation that has increased over time.
Perceptions of industry responsibility have improved slightly, with 18 percent of respondents now saying the gambling sector takes sufficient social responsibility, compared with 7 percent in previous years.
The supervision fee changes arrive as Sweden prepares additional regulatory measures. From April 2026, a new law will ban all forms of gambling on credit, including credit cards, short-term loans and buy now pay later products. The finance ministry has stated that the aim is to prevent overindebtedness linked to gambling.
Industry pressure is already visible. Dagens PS reported in January 2026 that Evolution Gaming’s share price has fallen by more than 30 percent over the past year as investors reassessed regulatory risk.
Industry representatives have warned that stricter rules could push players towards unlicensed operators. Gustaf Hoffstedt of the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling has said that channelisation is the mother of all other challenges and argued that consumer protection fails if players move outside the licensed market.
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