Betting sites without a Swedish licence: rules, odds, tax and risks

A betting site without a Swedish licence takes sports bets without permission from Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, usually under a licence from Malta, Estonia, Curaçao or Anjouan. Betting there is not illegal for you, but Swedish rules do not protect you: Spelpaus does not apply, BankID login is generally missing and your winnings may be taxable. This page sets out how the licences differ, how to do the maths on odds and bonuses, and what applies to tax, withdrawals and complaints as of October 2026.

18+. Gambling for money can become addictive. Stödlinjen, the Swedish gambling helpline, answers on 020‑81 91 00.

What ”without a Swedish licence” really means

It rarely means no licence at all. Most operators accepting people from Sweden hold a licence from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), Estonia’s tax and customs board (EMTA) or the Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA), which has issued licences directly since Curaçao’s new gaming law, the Landsverordening op de kansspelen (LOK), took effect on 24 December 2024. Some hold a licence from Anjouan or Tobique, where supervision is much weaker.

Since the Gambling Act (spellagen) took effect on 1 January 2019, a company targeting the Swedish market needs a Swedish licence. Operators without one may not target Sweden, though many still accept Swedish customers. Their reasons for staying out are mostly financial and regulatory. Swedish licensees have paid 22% gaming tax since 1 July 2024, up from 18%, and may only give a bonus at the first time of play.

Betting abroad also rarely comes without a casino. Of the 2,186 gambling sites without a Swedish licence that Spelinspektionen had identified up to 30 April 2026, 800 offered both online casino and betting, and only 6 offered betting alone. The wider picture of those sites is on our foreign casinos page.

Betting licences compared

ADR stands for alternative dispute resolution, an outside body that handles a dispute without going to court. One operator can run a casino and a sportsbook under one licence, but not every licence covers both. At the MGA, for example, fixed-odds betting is its own game type, so check that the register entry covers betting. More on the licences themselves is on our pages about Malta-licensed casinos and Curaçao casinos.

What you give up compared with a Swedish licence

Without BankID, the Swedish electronic ID, verification takes longer, especially at your first withdrawal. Protection is also weaker when something goes wrong: voided bets, cancelled withdrawals and closed accounts are matters for you, the operator and its regulator. Spelinspektionen cannot help you.

How to compare odds yourself

We do not quote odds levels we cannot verify. What you can calculate yourself is the payout rate: the share of stakes an operator pays back on average on a market. Divide 1 by the odds of each outcome, add the results, then divide 1 by the total.

The gap looks small, but over hundreds of bets it decides how quickly you lose. Repeat the sum for the league and bet type you use most, across several operators on the same day.

Maximum wins and voided bets

Odds are only half the comparison. Check the maximum win per bet, the right to void bets placed at wrong odds, and how quickly bets are settled. In an invented example, you place a 50 euro accumulator at total odds of 400, for a possible 20,000 euro. With a maximum win of 10,000 euro per bet slip you receive half, and your effective odds are 200.

Sports bonuses in numbers

Sports bonuses often have lower wagering than casino bonuses, but usually count only bets above a minimum price, such as odds of 1.75. System bets and bets settled with cash out usually do not count. Some operators exclude certain countries from a bonus, so read the terms first.

Suppose you deposit 100 euro and receive 100 euro, with 5x wagering on deposit plus bonus. You must bet 1,000 euro before withdrawing. At a 95% payout rate the expected cost is about 50 euro, half the bonus. With 6x on the bonus alone, you bet 600 euro at a cost of around 30 euro. Always check what the multiple applies to.

A bonus written in Swedish and aimed at Swedish players is a warning sign. Operators without a Swedish licence may not target Sweden, and if the game is judged to require a Swedish licence, winnings can become taxable even with an EEA licence.

Payments, withdrawals and verification

Cards, instant bank transfers and e-wallets are the norm. Accounts are mostly in euro and support answers in English, and payments in euro bring exchange fees. Never use a credit card for gambling. Trustly, Zimpler and Swish rely on Swedish bank accounts and BankID, and they have largely disappeared from foreign operators; our payment methods page goes through the alternatives.

Read the withdrawal terms before you deposit: minimum amounts, ceilings per day, week or month, processing time, whether deposits must be wagered once, and any fees. Verification usually means an ID document, proof of address, proof that the payment method is yours and, for larger sums, proof of where the money came from. EU anti-money-laundering rules (Directive 2015/849, article 11d) require operators to check customers no later than at transactions of 2,000 euro or more.

Tax on betting winnings

Betting follows the same rules as casino games. Net winnings, meaning the difference between winnings and stakes with the same operator during the year, are taxed at 30% as income from capital and declared in box 7.2. Winnings of at most 100 kr are tax-free. These invented examples show the method:

• Winning year: you win 40,000 kr at an Anjouan-licensed operator after staking 25,000 kr. Net winnings are 15,000 kr and the tax is 4,500 kr.
• Losing year: you stake 60,000 kr and get back 50,000 kr at one operator. No tax is due, but the loss is not deductible.
• Two operators: you are 20,000 kr up at one and 8,000 kr down at another. The loss cannot be offset, so the tax is 6,000 kr.

If you have moved abroad, or are unsure of your status, the key question is whether you have unlimited tax liability in Sweden. You do if you live here, stay here permanently or have substantial ties here, and these rules then apply. Our page on tax on casino winnings covers declaring step by step.

Spelpaus and self-exclusion

Spelpaus is Sweden’s national self-exclusion register, introduced on 1 January 2019. Just under 138,000 people were registered in the second quarter of 2026, according to Spelinspektionen’s statistics as reported in the trade press. You choose 10 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or until further notice, which runs for at least 12 months, and an exclusion cannot be ended early.

Spelpaus does not cover unlicensed sites. Being excluded is the most common reason people gave for playing outside the licensed system in Spelinspektionen’s survey of February and March 2026 (13%, from only 53 answers), and we never treat that as a selling point. If you excluded yourself, you did so for a reason, and you should not bet there at all. If you catch yourself looking for ways around it, take that seriously: exclude yourself through support at every foreign operator where you have an account, install blocking software such as Gamban or Betblocker, and read our page on responsible gambling.

Where the rules are heading

Spelinspektionen’s report of 15 June 2026 put 96% of 2025 betting with Swedish-licensed operators, against 81% for online casino. A government memorandum from September 2025 (Ds 2025:23) proposes that the Gambling Act should apply to online games people in Sweden can take part in, rather than games aimed at Sweden. It would also make payments to unlawful gambling easier to stop, and some winnings that are tax-free today would be taxed if you play unlicensed from Sweden. Entry into force is proposed for 1 January 2027, but as of October 2026 no government bill existed, so it is not law.

Frequently asked questions about betting without a Swedish licence

Is it illegal to bet with an operator that has no Swedish licence?

No, not for you as a player. The Gambling Act prohibits companies from offering games in Sweden without a licence and prohibits promoting unlicensed gambling. The player commits no crime, but you stand outside Spelpaus and Swedish consumer protection.

How can I check that a foreign operator is licensed for betting?

Find the licence number in the site footer and search for it in the regulator’s own register, such as the MGA licensee register or EMTA’s list of legal operators. The register shows which game types the licence covers. If wagering is missing, the operator has no betting licence from that regulator.

Can I use BankID at betting sites without a Swedish licence?

BankID login and registration belong to Swedish licence holders. At foreign operators you usually register with an email address or mobile number and verify with an identity document. Trustly and Zimpler are unusual at foreign operators that accept people from Sweden.

Are winnings from betting without a Swedish licence tax-free?

Only if the game targets a market within the EEA and does not require a Swedish licence. Winnings at operators outside the EEA, for example those licensed in Curaçao or Anjouan, are as a rule taxed at 30% of net winnings per operator and calendar year, according to Skatteverket, and go in box 7.2.

Does Spelpaus block me at betting sites abroad?

No. Spelpaus only applies to operators with a Swedish licence. At foreign operators you must exclude yourself through support on each site, and you can add blocking software such as Gamban or Betblocker.

Can an operator with an EU licence offer betting in Sweden?

Not without a Swedish licence. A licence from Malta or Estonia gives no right to target Swedish players. Spelinspektionen banned Claymore Malta Ltd, which held an EU licence, on 8 January 2026. The ban was lifted on 11 March 2026.