Sweden notes dip in channelization rate to 85%

• Channelization in Sweden drops slightly in 2024 to 85% of the market total, with the regulator still optimistic
• The majority of players – about 96% - are aware of the existence of the regulated market
• However, product dynamics and player preferences may be pushing some players to try unregulated websites instead

The Swedish Gambling Authority continues to meticulously track the market’s channelization rate in a bid to gain a better understanding of what drives player behavior in gambling. The latest data shows that channelization dipped to 85% in 2024.

Sweden reports channelization in slight decline despite high awareness of legal products

This is lower than the country’s stated figures for 2023, when channelization was hovering at 86%. Channelization is an elusive metric by definition, and it seeks to understand how many of the country’s active gamblers are engaging in regulated games of chance and how many are seeking alternatives offshore.

Despite the fairly low channelization rate, at least 96% of all Swedish gamblers have tried a licensed website at one point, indicating that there is general awareness of such brands. The main issue stems from the fact that player preferences may differ from what is offered presently.

Even then, the Spelinspektionen, the regulator’s Swedish name, is confident that there is reason to be optimistic about the future. For starters, argues the watchdog’s boss, Camilla Rosenberg, the watchdog has been successful in stemming much of the targeted traffic against Swedish players.

In other words, what gambling is going on offshore is incidental, in the sense that players find such websites and options themselves, rather than becoming the victim of active targeting.

Sweden has deployed stringent criteria and has found it efficient to hold not just licensees accountable, but also to bind suppliers in such a way that, should their products appear at a non-Spelinspektionen licensed website that is accessible from Sweden, they would lose their licenses.

Regulator argues offshore gambling is not due to targeted outside influences

In the meantime, the Swedish Gambling Authority has continued to actualize its verification methods and is updating the methodology it uses to confirm channelization numbers ahead of the 2025 market survey.

Another metric that the regulator is interested in is what part of the total gambling spending goes offshore. Before the market’s legalization in 2019, about 50% of the total gambling spending was going offshore, the regulator estimates.

However, in the Netherlands, where the market has been up and running, almost a similar figure is cited even years after the official legalization, with Dutch players expected to be spending 50% offshore.

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