Swedish gambling companies sent a letter to the finance ministry yesterday. The letter opposes different tax rates for different gambling types. December 15 marked the publication date of this important document. Thirteen chief executives signed the letter together. Entain, Betsson, and LeoVegas leaders joined the opposition group. ATG wants to lower the horse racing tax from 22% to 18%. The monopoly operator suggests raising the online casino tax to 26%. Sweden’s gambling policy goals would suffer from these changes. ATG started pushing for different tax rates after October 2023.

The government raised the gambling tax from 18% to 22% that month. The UK decided last month to increase online casino tax to 40%. Sports betting tax will reach 25% in the UK system. Horse racing received special treatment in the UK’s new tax structure. The industry group warns about damage to channelisation rates. Channelisation measures how much gambling happens in regulated markets. Sweden wants 90% of gambling inside the regulated system. The Swedish Gambling Authority reports only 85% channelisation currently. Gustaf Hoffstedt leads the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling.

Sweden’s Market Control Problems

Betting achieves channelisation between 92% and 96% in Sweden. Online casinos perform worse with 72% to 82% channelisation rates. The letter disputes ATG’s claims about product risk levels. ATG says online casinos create more risk than horse betting. Operators reject this argument using available player data. At-risk players face danger from all games, including horse betting. ATG claims horse betting supports the equestrian industry financially. The signatories say this argument misses Swedish policy objectives. Consumer protection remains the main goal of gambling policy.

Horse racing tax cuts would hurt online casino channelisation efforts. Online casinos already struggle with major channelisation problems. Horse betting reaches 98% to 99% channelisation according to research. ATG paid 35% tax on gambling surplus before 2019. The market opened to competition after regulatory changes that year. ATG operated under government control until recent independence. Operators want Sweden to keep uniform tax rates. Different rates for different products would create problems.