The channelisation rate to licensed online gambling operators active in Sweden improved slightly year-on-year during Q3, according to a new report released by ATG, and remains in line with the rate stated by regulator Spelinspektionen for 2024.
Data from ATG placed channelisation at between 74% and 85% for the third quarter of 2025. This was ahead of the 70% to 82% range the operator reported in the same period last year.
The upper end of the estimate also lined up with the 85% rate stated by Spelinspektionen for all of 2024. The regulator published its estimated rate in September, placing it behind the 86% figure of 2023.
However, both the latest ATG rate and Spelinspektionen’s estimate for 2024 fall short of the government’s channelisation target of 90%. This was set in 2019 when the country opened its regulated iGaming market.
Sports betting channelisation continues to lead casino
The 74% to 85% range stated by ATG covers the entire online gambling sector. However, when this is broken down, a clear gap remains between online casino and sports betting.
Assuming average revenue per visit (ARPV) was 10 times higher for unlicensed operators, the overall rate was 85%. However, sports betting scored higher at 90% whereas casino came in lower at 79%
Should ARPV be raised to 20 times higher for unlicensed operators, the overall rate was set at the bottom end of the range for 74%. Based on the same assumption, sports betting rate was 82% and online casino 65%.
All rates, however, have shown constant improvement since “bottoming out” early last year. In Q1 of 2024, online casino channelisation was estimated as low as 56% based on ARPV being 20 times higher for unlicensed operators. Sports betting was around 77% and overall market rate 67%.
Unlicensed website visits down in Q3
Visits to unlicensed websites have also been on a steady decline since Q1 last year, the ATG report said. The proportion of visits to unapproved sites stood at 2.3%, compared to a peak of around 3.4% in Q1 2024.
As for which unlicensed websites are most popular with Swedish players, Infiniza Limited owned the top three. Unlimitcasino.co led the way in Q3 with 174,391 total visits, ahead of Luckyjungle.com on 144,992, then Refuelcasino.com with 139,097 visits.
Of the 20 most visited, unlicensed websites, ATG said 16 offered games from leading content providers. The operator also noted eight offered direct deposit and withdrawal from Swedish bank accounts with BankID via payment technology company Krofort.
In addition, three of the top-20 sites featured on the Spelinspektionen’s prohibited list.
ATG CEO reiterates call for bonus ban
Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG, welcomed the rise in channelisation and downward trend in unlicensed website visits. However, he said more must be done to tackle illegal gambling in Sweden.
“It is pleasing to see a positive trend,” Skarplöth said. “The work against unlicensed players is starting to have an effect.”
He also referred to ATG’s joint proposal with Svenska Spel for a blanket ban on bonuses in the country’s iGaming market. This has drawn criticism from some quarters, including BOS, Sweden’s Trade Association for Online Gambling, that such a move could push players to illegal gambling.
However, Skarplöth maintained that if efforts are increased to block unlicensed websites, it will create an even safer online gambling environment for players in Sweden.
“I have long advocated a total bonus ban,” he said. “I am often met with the argument that it would drive players to the unlicensed market where bonuses flow. But if we succeed in strangling unlicensed gaming further, that protest will lose its force.”
ATG said online gambling channelisation in Sweden was between 74% and 85% in Q3 of 2025.