Sweden Confirms 2026 Supervision Fees

Sweden Confirms 2026 Supervision Fees

Sweden's gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, has confirmed that a revised schedule of supervision fees will take effect on March 1, 2026. The changes are formalised under regulation SIFS 2026:1, which replaces the previous framework and redefines how licence holders contribute to the cost of regulatory supervision.

The update does not introduce a new licensing system or alter the fundamental structure of Sweden's regulated market. Instead, it recalibrates the financial obligations attached to holding a licence. The approach remains consistent: each authorisation carries its own supervisory fee, and payment responsibility sits with the licence holder rather than the wider corporate group.

For online operators, the annual supervision charge has been set at SEK 240,000 per licence for both online casino and betting activities. Companies offering both products will pay twice, as each licence is treated independently. The rule reflects the regulator's position that supervision concerns the scope of the authorisation granted, not the ownership structure underlying it.

Suppliers of gambling software are also subject to the revised framework. A permit covering gambling software will cost SEK 16,500 per fee period. As with operator licences, the charge is calculated per permit and renewed annually.

The fee period itself runs for twelve months from the date a licence or permit is issued. If a licence is granted for less than a full year, the fee is adjusted proportionally. However, the regulation establishes a minimum threshold: no payment may be lower than one-twelfth of the annual amount. In practice, this prevents short-term licences from avoiding meaningful supervisory contributions.

The regulation extends beyond the online sector. An annex to SIFS 2026:1 outlines supervision fees across other licensed gambling forms, including state lotteries, public benefit lotteries, bingo, land-based commercial venues, and gambling conducted on ships.

For land-based operators, the cost is linked to the number of premises under a single licence. A company managing up to three venues will pay SEK 3,000, while larger networks face higher tiers, culminating in SEK 850,000 for licences covering up to one hundred locations. The scaling mechanism aligns the fee with operational reach, reflecting the regulator's assessment of supervisory demands.

Ship-based gambling is addressed separately, with a fixed charge of SEK 6,000 per vessel. This model simplifies administration for maritime operations and ensures uniform treatment across comparable licences.

Public benefit lotteries are subject to a turnover-based system. Organisations with an annual turnover of up to SEK 3 million will pay SEK 15,000, while those with an annual turnover exceeding SEK 1 billion will be charged SEK 600,000. Between these points, the structure moves through defined tiers. The approach links supervisory costs to financial scale rather than applying a flat rate across all entities.

Bingo licences for public benefit purposes are set at SEK 20,500 per venue. Temporary bingo licences carry a lower fee of SEK 1,000, reflecting their limited duration.

Spelinspektionen will generally invoice fees in advance for the upcoming period. Where a licence continues to apply due to a court ruling or other legal extension, the regulator will issue invoices retroactively to cover that period. The authority also retains the discretion to reduce or waive fees in exceptional circumstances, though such decisions are expected to be limited and case-specific.

The confirmation of the revised fee structure follows recent enforcement activity that underlines the regulator's supervisory role. Last month, Spelinspektionen issued a reprimand and imposed a SEK 80,000 fine on L&L Europe Limited. The action stemmed from a review of the company's Sweden-facing websites, where required consumer information was found to be incomplete.

According to the regulator, contact details such as telephone numbers and email addresses were missing from homepages, and certain sites lacked information outlining potential risks associated with gambling. These omissions were found to constitute breaches of the operator's obligations under Swedish law.

The timing of the fee update and the enforcement decision highlights two parallel aspects of regulation: financing oversight and enforcing compliance. While the new fees define the financial framework supporting supervision, the recent sanction demonstrates how that oversight is applied in practice.

The shift from SIFS 2024:4 to SIFS 2026:1 reflects administrative refinement rather than policy reversal. Sweden's licensing regime, introduced in 2019, continues to operate on the principle that regulated gambling requires both operational accountability and financial contribution to supervisory costs. The revised regulation clarifies how those costs are distributed across different licence categories.