iGamingExpert

The government of Sweden has appointed Erik Eldhagen as new State Secretary for Gambling, reporting to Minister for Financial Markets Niklas Wykman to lead one of Sweden’s most closely scrutinised policy portfolios.

Eldhagen’s responsibilities will extend across gambling regulation, financial markets, state-owned properties, and the financing of new nuclear power projects. His appointment takes effect on 1 December 2025.

A seasoned public official, Eldhagen joins from the Riksbank, where he served as Head of the International Secretariat. He previously held senior positions within the Ministry of Finance and acted as an advisor to the World Bank.

The appointment comes ahead of the government’s anticipated amendments to the 2018 Gambling Act, which opened Sweden’s online gambling market.

The forthcoming reforms, developed under the guidance of Inspector Marcus Isgren and Niklas Wykman, to strengthen Swedish gambling consumer safeguards and protections against unlicensed gambling.

2025 has seen Sweden change its leadership of Swedish gambling as Gambling Inspectorate Spelinspektionen has undertaken its own transition. Announced in October Johan Röhr has begun his tenure as Acting Director General following the departure of Camilla Rosenberg after eight years at the helm.

Prelude to sweeping 2026 reforms

In the final months of 2025, Spelinspektionen has advised all Swedish licensees to prepare for a transformative 2026, as the government finalises a package of sweeping regulatory reforms.

Amendments to the Gambling Act will tighten definitions of illegal gambling activity and expand the law’s jurisdiction to offshore operators that make their services available to Swedish players, even without explicit targeting.

The Ministry of Finance has endorsed a proposal to remove the “directional criterion” — a long-standing clause that excluded non-Swedish-facing games from domestic law. Its removal will empower authorities to pursue any operator accepting Swedish players, regardless of language, payment method, or marketing approach.

Additionally, the government plans to bolster regulatory oversight through new enforcement powers and an enhanced penalty framework, granting Spelinspektionen the authority to impose heavier sanctions, revoke licences, and expand compliance investigations.

A landmark element of the 2026 reforms will see Sweden become the first EU nation to impose a complete ban on gambling with credit. From 1 April 2026, operators will be prohibited from processing any payments funded through credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, or buy-now-pay-later services.

Hailed by the government as a key consumer protection measure, the ban aims to curb gambling-related indebtedness and reinforce the country’s responsible gambling framework.

The implementation of these measures will fall under the leadership of Acting Director General Johan Röhr, who succeeded Camilla Rosenberg on 1 November 2025, marking a new chapter for Spelinspektionen’s direction and enforcement strategy.

The use of Codere’s name in the headline of a recent ruling from Spanish regulators has been criticised as creating “an inaccurate and disproportionate impression”, according to Fernando Martín, Partner at Loyra Abogados.

Codere was among three regulated operators highlighted as the authorities announced sanctions worth €33.5m to 32 gambling operators in Spain. However, $30m of the total fines were attributed to six illegal operators.

The Spanish gambling group argued that its inclusion within the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030’s headline alongside 888 and Betfair unfairly grouped them in with more serious offenders, given its fine totalled a measly €17,500 of the total figure.

Martín said: “For licensed operators such as Codere, 888 or Betfair, these cases relate to administrative compliance issues. They involve failures in technical controls, internal procedures or reporting obligations. They do not relate to illegal gambling activity.

“By contrast, the €5 million fines issued to offshore operators correspond to very serious infringements and come with website and payment blocking. These are aimed at disrupting unlicensed activity.

“This difference is essential. Mixing both types of operators in a single headline creates confusion and can damage reputations. This episode illustrates why such a distinction is essential, especially at a time when consumer confusion between legal and illegal platforms is growing.”

Black market confusion

Alongside sanctioning each illegal operator €5m, the DGOJ has blocked their websites. However, the sanctions illustrate the strength of Spain’s illicit gambling market.

Recent data from EY and Jdigital revealed that 23.4% of Spanish players have used illegal gambling websites, and the market has grown to be worth €231m in 2024, approximately 16% of the value of the regulated market.

Mirroring similar findings to those in the UK, the research found that the distinction between the legal and illegal remains increasingly blurred for players.

“One of the most striking findings is the level of confusion among consumers. Almost half of the players who believe they only use legal “.es” sites have actually accessed illegal platforms, including domains such as “.com” or “.bet”. This lack of awareness is a major cause of exposure,” explained Martín.

“32.1% of players aged 18 to 24 do not realise they are using illegal operators, making them one of the most exposed demographics.

“Illegal operators exploit these weaknesses with aggressive promotions, unlimited stakes, faster payments and a strong presence on digital channels. Platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram, and payment methods like Bizum and cryptocurrencies are central to their strategy of attracting Spanish players outside the regulated system.”

Regulating the suppliers

The DGOJ is currently considering a raft of significant reforms, including tighter restrictions on advertising and promotions, and the implementation of a regulator-developed risky player behaviour monitoring system.

Alongside this, for the first time in Spain, B2B providers will be required to register with the DGOJ, marking “the beginning of direct supervision over the technological backbone of the industry”.

“The reform introduces a clear obligation for providers to ensure that their systems are not used by unlicensed operators,” concluded Martín.

“They will need to adopt both technical safeguards and contractual controls to prevent their platforms, software or RNGs from ending up in the illegal market. This shifts part of the responsibility for enforcement onto those who develop and supply the technology.

“In addition, a licensed operator will only be allowed to certify or approve a technical system if the supplier is properly registered. This creates a direct link between the regulatory status of B2B providers and the compliance obligations of licensed operators, tightening oversight across the entire chain.”

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have aligned to launch the joint research project on gambling, gathering comparable knowledge about gambling habits and gambling problems in the region.

It marks a key move from the Nordic countries as they seek to learn lessons from each other in a bid to strengthen each market’s understanding of gambling habits and subsequently bolster player safeguards.

Approximately 30,000 randomly selected people, aged 18 to 80, from each country will participate in the study across the Nordic region, with invitations sent by post and reminders sent via Kivra.

The survey is being conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen), Danish Gambling Authority (Spillemyndigheden), Aalborg University, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, University of Iceland, Norwegian Gambling and Foundation Authority (Lotteritilsynet) and the University of Bergen.

Maria Vinberg, Investigator at Spelinspektionen, commented: “The study will provide a basis for assessing gambling and gambling problems in the Nordic countries.

It will be exciting to compare the results with previous Swedish data and with the rest of the Nordic countries, especially since so few similar joint surveys have been conducted in Europe.”

To be answered digitally, the study questions will cover topics such as gambling, computer games and problems related to gambling.

The Pan-Nordic Gambling Study’s results will be published in the spring next year, with a selection of the results reported in the Swedish Public Health Agency’s statistical database, Folkhälsodata, and on the knowledge website spelprevention.

Ombudsman criticism

However, the study comes as Spelinspektionen receives criticism from the Swedish Ombudsman.

On its website, the Swedish authority stated that the Ombudsman criticised Spelinspektionen for not previously being able to exclude individuals from gambling without electronic identification.

In the summer of 2024, a person requested to be banned from gambling without electronic identification, but it took approximately a month for the person’s request to be processed by Spelinspektionen.

The Swedish authority said in a statement that Spelpaus, its self-exclusion service, was built “on the basic idea that the Swedish Gambling Authority would not handle any suspensions manually”, and so the person would go onto the website and confirm their exclusion with an electronic ID.

Spelinspektionen said: “Until the summer of 2024, it was not possible to exclude oneself from gambling without an e-ID. After the court found in the spring of 2024 that there were no formal requirements for reporting, the Swedish Gambling Authority began work on enabling manual handling of suspensions in the system.”

However, the Ombudsman responded that the Swedish authority “cannot escape criticism because there was no alternative to banning” when the request was made and that “the information about why the processing was delayed should have been better”.

Consumer Rights groups in the Netherlands continue to press the government to take action on compensation of players prior for misleading and harmful practices.

The latest intervention comes from Consumentenbond (Consumers’ Association) and the Consumers’ Competition Claims Foundation, which have formally demanded that leading online casinos compensate players misled or encouraged into excessive gambling prior to market regulation.

Dutch online gambling licences named include: bet365, Betcity, Holland Casino, Jacks, Unibet and Toto, alleging that the operators violated their legal obligations by providing unclear information, unfair defaults, and deceptive bonus offers that encouraged players to spend irresponsibly.

Sandra Molenaar, Director of Consumentenbond, commented: “Online casinos are trying to rip off as much money as possible from consumers. This is not only irresponsible, but also completely illegal. Consumers are entitled to compensation for these illegal practices — and we will try to arrange that for them.”

Echoing her view, Bert Heikens, Chairman of the Consumers’ Competition Claims Foundation, added: “Consumers must be able to rely on a safe gaming environment. That was, simply put, the intention when online gambling was legalised in the Netherlands. That’s not the case now. Consumers are at the mercy of the wolves.”

Both organisations have called on the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) to investigate whether licensed operators breached their duty-of-care commitments, warning that collective legal action will follow if no remedial action is taken.

Unibet faces explosive €75m lawsuit

The mounting consumer backlash coincides with a separate €75 million collective compensation claim filed in September against Unibet Netherlands by consumer-claims organisation Dynamiet.

Representing 2,500 Dutch players, the case — now before the District Court of The Hague — alleges that Unibet and its parent company, Kindred Group, facilitated illegal online gambling and targeted Dutch consumers before the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) came into effect on 1 October 2021.

“For many of these people, it’s not primarily about money — it’s about recognition,” said Deepak Thakoerdien, co-founder of Dynamiet. “They were ignored for years while being drained by an illegal casino. Waiting is for spectators; we are here to act.”

Dynamiet argues that Unibet’s Dutch-language website, iDEAL payment system, and local customer support demonstrate a deliberate focus on the Dutch market before licensing. The organisation also referenced the 2019 KSA fine against Unibet for illegal activity, calling for past violations to be factored into current regulatory oversight.

Legal experts have described the case as a potential landmark in European gambling law, setting a precedent for retroactive liability and paving the way for broader restitution claims against other pre-KOA operators.

Response and assurance needed in 2026

As regulatory and legal scrutiny grows, stakeholders are watching closely to see how the Netherlands’ new liberal coalition government will approach KOA market reforms.

The administration faces a pivotal decision — whether to empower the KSA to enforce tougher compliance measures, or allow the judiciary to absorb a wave of collective lawsuits that could overwhelm the courts and ultimately demand full government intervention.

For Consumentenbond and its partners, the message remains clear: until accountability is enforced, the promise of a safe and transparent online gambling market will remain unfulfilled.