Government Proposal in Sweden Targets Credit Use in Gambling

Government Proposal in Sweden Targets Credit Use in Gambling

Sweden is preparing to revisit the issue of credit-fueled gambling with a new legislative proposal that would place tighter restrictions on how funds are sourced and processed within the country's regulated gambling market. If passed, the measure would go beyond the current credit ban by addressing indirect forms of borrowing and expanding the responsibility of licensed operators.

The proposed changes are scheduled to take effect in April 2026. Although still subject to the legislative process, the draft signals a shift in how policymakers view financial risk within the gambling industry, moving the focus from individual consumer choices to systemic practices that may facilitate problematic play.

Under the current law, direct gambling on credit is prohibited. However, the government argues that several methods still allow players to fund gambling activities through borrowed money, often by way of intermediaries or through digital transactions that obscure the origin of the funds. The new proposal is designed to target those methods more precisely.

If enacted, license holders would be barred not only from offering gambling on credit themselves but also from facilitating or indirectly enabling it. That includes restrictions on linking to credit providers or offering products and interfaces that support third-party lending arrangements. Operators would also be required to avoid accepting payments if it is immediately apparent that the transaction is being made with a credit card.

This extension of the rule into gray areas, such as embedded credit options on gambling websites or the visible use of credit cards at retail locations, introduces a broader scope of responsibility for the industry. It signals an expectation that licensees monitor not only how money is accepted but also how it is sourced to the extent that this can be reasonably assessed.

The government has stated that the objective of the policy is to mitigate the risk of over-indebtedness associated with gambling activities. Officials argue that allowing borrowed funds to enter the gambling ecosystem, even indirectly, undermines consumer protection efforts and can lead to financial strain that spreads beyond the individual player.

Sweden's regulated gambling market, restructured in 2019, was built around a model that prioritizes public health and financial responsibility. In this context, the proposal aligns with a broader framework of reforms aimed at regulating advertising, promotional offers, bonus structures, and deposit limits, all of which are designed to mitigate gambling-related harm.

While the proposed measures do not represent a full restructuring of the regulatory framework, they reflect a methodical approach to closing regulatory loopholes. The shift from banning credit directly to restricting the facilitation of credit is likely to prompt operators to reexamine payment channels and user interfaces.

The proposal also extends to physical venues, where operators would be expected to exercise judgment in refusing payments when the use of credit is clear at the point of sale. While the mechanics of enforcement are not fully defined in the draft, implementation would likely fall under the remit of both the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) and financial regulators.

If passed, the measure could trigger operational adjustments for a range of actors, including digital payment providers, gambling affiliates, and financial service platforms that may offer lending tools adjacent to gambling portals. The reach of the proposal could extend beyond traditional gambling companies into fintech partnerships and embedded finance models that have gained ground across digital sectors.

In some cases, the practical outcome may be as simple as removing hyperlinks to credit providers. In others, it could require more comprehensive changes to payment onboarding systems, player affordability checks, and monitoring tools that detect red flags related to user behavior.

The government's choice to publish the proposal nearly a year before its intended enforcement date reflects an understanding that such changes require coordination. It also provides time for stakeholder feedback and potential revision. The debate is likely to center around how operators can be expected to identify whether a transaction is credit-based and what practical tools they will be expected to deploy in making those determinations.