The Swedish Winds of Gambling Change

The Swedish people are a nation of gamblers with great gaming skills and although it is a relatively a small country it has managed to produce scores of big casino winners.

Sweden has strict gambling laws and there is a state monopoly for gambling. However the Swedish law stipulates that games of skill can be wagered on while games of luck are deemed to be criminal if wagered on.

In recent weeks there have been many rumors and speculations going on with regards to the legality and validity of various gambling activities.

It all started less than a month ago when in the beginning of April the Swedish Supreme Court ruling that tournament poker is a game of skill and therefore does not violate Swedish law.

In addition a leading research group reported that over a quarter of all gambling activity by Swedish punters is done online and over one million Swedes play gambling games online with foreign gaming operators which means Swedish money is leaving Sweden and not being reimbursed back to the Swedish treasury via taxes.

The research group recommended that the Swedish government reviews the current state monopoly that is operated by Svenska Spel in order to provide its residents with greater choice and better customer protection.

Another positive shift is the position that the Christian Democratic party held with regards to online gambling. In the past it supported a state monopoly but members of the party have recently reached the conclusion that there is a need to open the country up for online gambling with appropriate legislation, regulation and taxation in an effort to keep Swedish Kronor in the country.

No changes have yet been made to the current law but there is a hope in light of all that aforesaid that the winds of change will blue through the tiny kingdom very soon.