The Lotteries Act
The lottery definition in the Lotteries Act comprises drawing of lots, guessing, betting, bingo games, gaming machines, roulette games, dice games and card games. Whether a stake has to be paid or not, is of no importance when deciding if an activity is to be defined as a lottery.
Drawing of tickets, guessing, betting and bingo games
The arranging of lotteries is mainly a privilege for non-profit associations, horse racing associations and the national lottery.
An important requirement relating to non-profit associations is that they must have as their principal purpose the promotion of objects that are of public benefit. Such non-profit associations can obtain permits to arrange traditional lotteries, guessing and bingo games. The Gaming Board is responsible for issuing permits for lotteries that are to be arranged in more than one county. Applications for permits regarding smaller lotteries are handled by regional or local (county or municipal) authorities.
The non-profit associations must meet further conditions in order to obtain a permit, such as:
• the payout percentage must be at least 35 percent and not more than 50 percent and
• it can be assumed that the lottery will give the applicant reasonable revenue and that this will be used for the relevant object of public benefit.
The government has granted AB Svenska Spel (the national lottery, wholly-owned by the state) and ATG (a state-controlled company owned by the horse racing associations) exclusive permits to arrange certain lotteries and gambling. Svenska Spel has the sole right to arrange sports betting (with a few exceptions for local events) and ATG has the sole right to arrange horse racing betting.
Gaming machines
Essentially only token machines are allowed. Token machines pay winnings in the form of certificates of value, that can be exchanged for cash. Token machines are allowed in hotels or restaurants holding a permit to serve alcohol and in bingo halls. Permits to arrange gaming on token machines can only be granted to state-owned gaming companies. The government has granted Svenska Spel a permit to arrange gaming on a maximum number of 7 500 token machines.
Restaurant casinos
Commercial interests are allowed only in exceptional cases in the Swedish gambling market. The most important exception to the main rule is games of card, dice and roulette that may be arranged in hotels or restaurants holding a permit to serve alcohol, so called restaurant casinos. There are detailed regulations for these games in the Act, for example the stakes and prizes are very limited (in roulette the stakes and prizes must not be higher than 6 SEK and 200 SEK respectively).
Internet lotteries etc
Since 1 August 2002 it is possible for non-profit associations that have as their principal purpose the promotion of objects that are of public benefit, to obtain permits to arrange lotteries that are distributed by means of electromagnetic waves (e.g. Internet, mobile telephony and digital TV). Svenska Spel and ATG have the same possibility since 1 January 2003. The Gaming Board has issued statutes with specific technical requirements relating to the equipment used in these lotteries.
Prohibition of promoting participation
In order to uphold the Swedish gambling regime the Lotteries Act contains a prohibition of promoting participation in lotteries arranged outside Sweden and unlawful lotteries. The prohibition of participation in foreign or unlawful lotteries covers such activities as selling lottery tickets, receiving stakes or passing on prizes and advertising.
Sanctions
If a permit holder fails to comply with the provisions of the Lotteries Act or other regulations issued pursuant to the Act, the authority granting the permit may issue a warning or revoke the permit. Supervisory authorities may issue orders and prohibitions required for compliance with the Lotteries Act or other regulations issued pursuant to the Act.
A fine or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment may be imposed on persons who unlawfully arrange a lottery or promote participation in gaming arranged outside Sweden.
The Casinos Act
Casino gaming with international gaming rules is regulated in a special legislation, the Casinos Act. Permits to operate such a casino can only be granted a state-owned company. The provisions of the Act cover issues like age limit, registration of visitors, prohibition of granting of credits and prohibition of employees participating in casino gaming. The government has granted Svenska Spel a permit to arrange casino gaming. There are four casinos in the cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Sundsvall respectively.