Debate around taxation in Sweden is set to be escalated into 2026, as stakeholders seemingly butt heads on a debate that very much mirrors that which reverberated around the UK in 2025.
Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) has urged the Ministry of Finance in Sweden to reject the introduction of a “differentiated gambling tax scheme”.
The plan was initially knocked back by 13 of Sweden’s biggest gambling operators, after the issuing of a letter to Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson and Deputy Niklas Wykman under the banner of the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS).
BOS were vehement in their opposition to ATG’s proposal to align horse betting taxation with other casino at 26%, with it currently standing at 18% – they deemed the plans having a negative economic impact.
ATG underpinned the potential of UK Labour government’s recent tax reforms — which raised general gambling taxes but exempted horse racing, which they stated is a model “Sweden should follow.”
BOS’s response stated: “Such a hypothetical initiative by Sweden would be inconsistent with the main purpose of our gambling policy,” the association wrote.
“The government states this goal by saying: ‘The negative consequences of gambling should be reduced’ and ‘Gambling for money should be covered by strong consumer protection.’”
At the centre of BOS’s argument lies the question of channelisation — the share of gambling that takes place within Sweden’s licensed market. The trade body warned that the country’s overall channelisation rate has fallen well below its 90% target, currently hovering around 85%, with stark differences between product types.
While betting maintains a high channelisation rate of 92–96%, and horse betting reaches 98–99%, the online casino segment lags far behind at 72–82%, BOS noted.
“The level of the tax rate is not the only aspect influencing whether consumers choose to play within the licensed market or outside it,” the letter continued. “But this is a critical variable, particularly for high-volume players, because the tax rate directly influences the price of the gambling product.”
