Sweden Online Gambling Share Reaches 66.5% in Q1 2026
Sweden’s Online Gambling Share Reaches 66.5% in Q1 2026 – Digital Casino and Sports Betting Extend Lead Over Retail
Key Takeaways
- Licensed gambling revenue in Sweden reached SEK6.68bn in Q1 2026, up 0.8% year on year.
- Online casino and sports betting generated SEK4,439m, rising 3.4% compared with Q1 2025.
- Digital channels accounted for 66.5% of total licensed gambling revenue in the quarter.
- State lottery and slot revenue declined 3.4%, while public benefit lotteries fell 2.6%.
- Nearly 138,000 individuals were registered with the Spelpaus.se self exclusion system by the end of March 2026.
Licensed Gambling Revenue Shows Limited Overall Growth
Sweden’s licensed gambling market generated SEK6.68bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2026, according to figures published by the national regulator Spelinspektionen. The result represents a year on year increase of 0.8% compared with the same period in 2025.
The moderate overall growth reflects diverging trends between online and land based segments. While digital gambling expanded further, several retail focused categories continued to contract. The regulator reports only aggregated figures across licensed operators and does not publish operator specific data.
For the full year 2025, total licensed gambling revenue across all segments amounted to SEK28.2bn. The Q1 2026 data indicates that the market remains broadly stable in size, with structural shifts within segments rather than strong headline growth.
Online Casino and Sports Betting Account for Two Thirds of Revenue
Commercial online gambling, which includes online casino and sports betting, generated SEK4,439m in Q1 2026. This marks a 3.4% increase from SEK4,295m in Q1 2025.
With total licensed revenue at SEK6.68bn, online casino and sports betting represented 66.5% of the market during the quarter. This confirms the continued dominance of digital channels within Sweden’s regulated gambling framework.
Since the re regulation of the Swedish gambling market in 2019, online operators have steadily increased their share of total revenue. The Q1 2026 figures show that this trend remains intact, with digital growth offsetting declines in several offline categories.
For users comparing online betting and casino platforms, the data underlines that the majority of regulated gambling activity in Sweden now takes place online rather than in physical venues.
Retail Segments Continue to Lose Ground
Several land based and lottery related segments recorded declining revenue in the first quarter.
State lottery and slot machine gaming fell 3.4% year on year to SEK1,274m. Public benefit lotteries and games declined 2.6% to SEK863m. Hall bingo revenue remained unchanged at SEK47m.
One smaller land based segment reported growth. Commercial land based gaming, mainly restaurant casinos, increased 3.6% to SEK57m, compared with SEK55m in Q1 2025. Despite this improvement, the segment remains limited in scale relative to online gambling.
Casino Cosmopol, the state run casino business, no longer contributes to overall market revenue. The final venue closed in early 2025. The segment had generated SEK26m in Q1 2025 and SEK8m in Q2 2025 before disappearing from subsequent quarterly figures. Q1 2026 marks the third consecutive quarter without any revenue from state run casinos in the official totals.
The closure removes a previously reported land based revenue stream and further shifts the market composition toward digital channels.
Self Exclusion Register Continues to Expand
Spelinspektionen also reported growth in Sweden’s national self exclusion register, Spelpaus.se. By the end of March 2026, nearly 138,000 individuals had registered to block themselves from licensed gambling services.
This figure represents a 2.6% increase compared with the end of Q4 2025. Registration in Spelpaus.se prevents individuals from participating in gambling offered by licensed operators in Sweden, both online and land based.
The continued rise in registrations provides additional context to market performance. While online revenue is increasing, the number of individuals choosing to self exclude is also growing, reflecting ongoing use of the national consumer protection system.
Our Assessment
The Q1 2026 data shows that Sweden’s licensed gambling market remains broadly stable in overall size, with revenue up 0.8% year on year to SEK6.68bn. Growth is concentrated in online casino and sports betting, which now account for 66.5% of total licensed revenue after rising 3.4% to SEK4,439m.
In contrast, several retail and lottery segments declined, and state run casino revenue has disappeared following the closure of Casino Cosmopol venues in early 2025. At the same time, the national self exclusion register continues to expand, with nearly 138,000 people enrolled by the end of March 2026.
Taken together, the figures highlight an increasingly digital market structure within Sweden’s regulated gambling system, accompanied by ongoing participation in national player protection measures.
