Swedish government reveals new licensing costs
B2C licence renewals to double, while B2B suppliers to be subject to a SEK120,000 fee under new regulation
The Swedish government has introduced new licensing charges for B2B gambling software providers as well as increasing the charge for renewing a licence for online operators.
While putting forward further proposals to strengthen gambling regulation in January, Minister for Social Security Ardalan Shekarabi announced a raft of proposals to be implemented starting 1 January 2023.
Among the changes were plans to introduce fees and requirements for B2B licences within the Swedish market, increasing the current gaming and betting licensing renewal fee, as well as introducing additional advertising restrictions.
The announcement of the changes to the licensing process in Sweden on 7 March saw the fee for a renewal application for online gaming and sports betting double from SEK300,000 (£23,004) to SEK600,000.
The fee to apply for new commercial online gaming or betting only has been set at SEK400,000, with an application for both costing SEK700,000. The new fees introduced for B2B suppliers have been announced as SEK120,000.
Ever since Sweden’s regulated market went live in 2019, operators have been calling for providers to also be licensed in an effort to quell the threat posed by the online black market.
Currently, 66 operators have licences in Sweden, with 39 of those licensed for both online gaming and betting.
The Swedish government has stated that while the increase in renewal fee is double the current cost, it still remains comparatively low.
Should all 39 operators renew their licence for the five-year period, the cost would amount to SEK23.4m, a total of approximately 0.03% of turnover for the licensing period (SEK4bn per quarter).
The amendments are to planned to be introduced from 1 March 2023, two months later than initially proposed.