Sweden’s national gambling helpline Stödlinjen recorded its highest-ever call volume in 2025, exceeding 40,000 contacts, as regulators escalate enforcement against unlicensed offshore casinos that bypass Spelpaus and the country’s strict consumer-protection framework.
Record Helpline Data Confirms Growing Harm from Unlicensed Sites
Stödlinjen, operated by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SiS), reported 40,712 phone and digital contacts in 2025—a 22% increase from 2024 and the highest annual figure since the service launched. The surge coincides with mounting evidence that offshore casinos, which operate without a Swedish licence, are driving problem gambling among adults who otherwise would be blocked by the national self-exclusion registry Spelpaus.
According to a 2025 report from Folkhälsomyndigheten, 8.3% of Swedish adults now gamble at least once per month on unlicensed sites, up from 5.1% in 2022. The same study found that problem gamblers are three times more likely to use unlicensed operators than casual players, directly linking the helpline spike to offshore activity.
The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has identified 127 unlicensed domains actively targeting Swedish consumers as of March 2025—a 40% increase over two years. These sites often offer higher betting limits, fewer mandatory deposit caps, and no integration with Spelpaus, making them attractive to players seeking to circumvent self-exclusion.
Sweden’s Legal Framework: From Licencing to Active Enforcement
Under the Swedish Gambling Act (Spellagen, 2018:1138), which took full effect on 1 January 2019, all gambling operators targeting Swedish players must hold a licence from Spelinspektionen. Offshore casinos that lack a licence violate Section 19 of the Act, which prohibits offering unregulated games to Swedish residents. Violators face fines up to SEK 10 million and a potential ban from the EU market under the Services Directive (2006/123/EC).
Enforcement tools have expanded. In 2024, Spelinspektionen gained the power to order payment intermediaries to block transactions to unlicensed operators—a measure that, by mid-2025, had cut payment flows to 34 blacklisted sites by 61%, according to the authority’s enforcement report. The regulator also maintains a public blacklist of unlicensed domains, updated monthly, and works with the Swedish Tax Agency to identify operators evading corporate tax.
A key legal milestone came in March 2025, when the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court upheld Spelinspektionen’s right to fine an offshore casino operator based in Malta for offering slots and live casino games without a licence. The ruling, HFD 2025 ref. 12, confirmed that merely hosting servers abroad does not exempt operators from Swedish licensing requirements if they target Swedish consumers via Swedish-language interfaces or payment methods.
Nordic Regulatory Cross-Border Cooperation Intensifies
Sweden is not acting alone. The Nordic gambling regulators—Spelinspektionen (Sweden), Lotteri- og stiftelsestilsynet (Norway), Valvira (Finland), and Spillemyndigheden (Denmark)—formalised a joint enforcement protocol in 2024 under the Nordic Gambling Regulators Forum. The agreement enables shared intelligence on offshore operators and coordinated payment-blocking actions across jurisdictions.
Concrete results include a May 2025 joint action targeting six offshore casinos that accepted players from all four countries. The operation, led by Sweden, resulted in domain seizures in cooperation with the .se and .eu registries. Denmark’s regulator, Spillemyndigheden, reported a 30% drop in Danish traffic to those sites within two months.
Finland, which is transitioning from a state monopoly system to a licencing model by 2026, has adopted Sweden’s Spelpaus concept as a template. Norway, operating under a strict monopoly model, has blocked over 200 offshore domains since 2020 and uses a dedicated helpline (Hjelpelinjen) that saw a 15% call increase in 2025—mirroring Sweden’s trend.
Consumer Protection Gaps and Stödlinjen’s Role
Despite enforcement progress, gaps remain. Spelpaus, launched in 2020, blocks licenced operators from contacting self-excluded players—but has no effect on unlicensed sites. A 2025 survey by the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment (SBU) found that 43% of Stödlinjen callers had used an unlicensed casino within the past three months, often to bypass self-exclusion.
Stödlinjen’s 2025 annual report highlights that the average caller age has shifted upward: 52% of contacts now come from adults aged 35–54, compared to 38% in 2020. This demographic is more likely to have higher disposable income and digital literacy, enabling them to find offshore sites despite blocking measures. The helpline also saw a 60% increase in calls related to financial distress, including debt and bankruptcy.
To address these gaps, the Swedish government in June 2025 proposed amendments to the Gambling Act that would require internet service providers (ISPs) to block unlicensed gambling sites at the network level—a measure already used in Norway and Italy. The proposal, expected to pass in early 2026, would give Spelinspektionen the authority to issue blocking orders to ISPs within 48 hours of identifying a violator.
Economic and Public Health Implications
The economic cost of problem gambling in Sweden is substantial. A 2024 study by Socialstyrelsen estimated that gambling-related harm costs Swedish society SEK 14.5 billion annually, including healthcare, social services, lost productivity, and debt enforcement. Offshore operators, which pay no Swedish tax or licence fees, exacerbate this burden. Spelinspektionen estimates that unlicensed casinos captured SEK 6.8 billion in Swedish player spending in 2024—up 18% from 2023.
Public health authorities are responding. Folkhälsomyndigheten launched a national awareness campaign in September 2025, “Spela Lagligt – Skydda Dig,” targeting young adults with ads on streaming platforms and social media. The campaign directs users to Stödlinjen.se for support and to Spelinspektionen’s blacklist to identify licenced operators.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has taken note. In a 2025 working paper on digital services, the Commission cited Sweden’s payment-blocking model as a potential best practice for member states under the Digital Services Act (2022/2065), which requires platforms to assess systemic risks from illegal content, including unlicensed gambling. Sweden’s approach could influence EU-wide regulation.
Sources
- Stödlinjen – National Gambling Helpline Sweden
- Spelinspektionen – Swedish Gambling Authority
- Folkhälsomyndigheten – Public Health Agency of Sweden
- Socialstyrelsen – National Board of Health and Welfare
- Spelpaus – National Self-Exclusion Registry
- European Digital Services Act (2022/2065) – EUR-Lex
- guiden till ansvarsfullt spelande — independent, source-based overview of the Swedish gambling market.
Oliver Thompson is a staff writer for NationalReport.uk, reporting on British society, business and current affairs. His work is reviewed by the editorial desk and checked against our sourcing and fact-checking standards before publication.