Indian players never had to worry about this, because there are no casinos with Indian licenses. Every online casino in India you play at has a foreign license. But what about Sweden? Are casinos without Swedish licenses legal? And what are they exactly? And what payment methods can I use on these sites? Those are just three of the questions that will be answered in this text. Because in this article you will be provided with all the information you need about casinos that don’t have a Swedish license.
What are Casinos without Swedish license?
On the Swedish gambling market, you will be able to find a lot of companies, offering a variety of games. There’s one thing they have in common, however, and that’s their gaming license. Since the first of January 2019, every gambling company that’s active on the Swedish market need to have a valid Swedish license.
Casinos without Swedish license are companies that don’t have a Swedish gambling license. Some of these companies still accept Swedish players, despite the new Swedish gambling law, that prohibits this.
One of the reasons that a company doesn’t get a license might be the cost. Gambling licenses are not cheap, especially not the Swedish ones.
Also, a company might have a different primary market and not bother to get the Swedish license, since the Swedish population is comparatively small.
Our Swedish counterpart, Casinofox.se has nicely explained about casinos with a Swedish license and those without a Swedish license. There you’ll also find all the casinos with and without licenses that accept Swedish players.
Are Casinos without Swedish license legal?
That depends on how you look at it. Players don’t have anything to worry about. They’re not breaking any laws by playing at an unlicensed casino.
At the same time, the gambling companies are active on the Swedish market even if they don’t have an official permission to do so. So, the gambling companies are breaking the Swedish law, but are taking advantage of a juridical grey area. In other words, the Swedish government are not able to prosecute these sites. At least not right now.
Different gambling licenses
We sometimes call these site casinos without a license for short, but to be clear, these are not casinos without licenses. The licenses they have are just from other countries.
Our friends at casinoswithoutlicense.com will give you complete information regarding international licenses. You’ll find a list of all the casinos with licenses from within EU as well as those outside EU.
As these vary in quality, we recommend that you always check what kind of license a casino have before you deposit any founds to it. Now we will describe some common licenses and what they mean for you as a player.
Malta, MGA
Scroll down to the bottom of the casino’s website. If it says MGA you’ve come to a secure casino. MGA stands for Malta Gaming Authority. This is one of the most popular licenses among players as well as casinos. No wonder since the casinos have to offer a high level of security to receive this license.
Players within Europe will never have to pay taxes on an MGA casino. There’s even plenty of casinos where you can use Trustly and BankID. At these kinds of casinos without a Swedish license you will probably be offered a lot of different promotions and bonuses. For example, you will be able to receive cash back on some casinos with MGA license.
Some MGA Casinos which you already know include Casumo, 22Bet and Lucky Niki.
Curacao
This is another common and popular gambling license. It’s been in existence all since 1996, which makes it one of the oldest gambling licenses on the market. European players will unfortunately have to pay taxes on their winnings when playing on sites with Curacao licenses. The tax is 30% on everything that exceeds 100 KR.
The reputation of this license is not as good as MGA’s. This is because this license is much easier and cheaper for companies to get.
On the plus side, this means that small companies also have a chance to create casinos and make a profit. 10Cric is a popular Casino with Curacao license.
On the minus side, the quality of sites with Curacao license varies a great deal. They generally don’t help in disputes and don’t have as many laws forcing them to take responsibility for their players. So, some just simply don’t.
Gibraltar
This license is a bit less common the ones we’ve mentioned above. Gibraltar is a British region that’s located at the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The gaming license of Gibraltar has a great reputation. They have strict rules for their casinos and always perform background-checks on everyone that stands to profit from the casino. Another of the requirements for getting a Gibraltar license is that the casinos must control their players identities. People who are under a certain age are prohibited from playing on online casinos.
The casinos must also have systems in place that limits the risks for money laundry or other crimes. The casinos must also have an option for limiting the players deposits. This will be helpful for anyone who is struggling to cut down on their playtime. Casinos with the Gibraltar gaming license always have security of the best quality available.
Gibraltar doesn’t belong to the EU so you will have to pay taxes on your winnings.
English/UK gaming license
The UK gaming license applies on betting, arcades, casinos, bingo, lotteries, gambling software as well as gambling machines. This is said to be one of the most secure licenses around today. The cost of getting this license for the casinos varies, depending on how much the casino is prepared to help in the process. A normal fee however is, 25,000 euro.
England is not a part of EU anymore, which means that you will have to pay taxes on your winnings.
Reasons to play at casinos without Swedish license
There are both positive and negative things that come with playing at casinos without a Swedish gaming license. For instance, they have a lot of bonuses, compared to Swedish sites, as well as more games. Casinos without the Swedish gaming license usually also have more payment options.
- More games and other games
- The payment options
- No waiting between spins in slots
- VIP-program.
- Lots of bonuses and competitions. Cashback!
- Play during a Spelpaus.
More games and other games
The number of games that you find on a casino site varies, of course. However, the unlicensed casinos have a wider and larger supply of games. All Swedish sites offer pretty much the same exact games from the same providers. If you’re in the mood for something different you will have to try a unlicensed casino.
At these sites you will find games from popular providers like NetEnt and Evolution Gaming, but the games will also come from less known game providers. These games are often as good as the popular ones.
Another aspect of this is that the game supply is usually much wider than on the Swedish casino. In other words, you will be able to play types of games that you won’t even find on Swedish casinos. Some examples are lottery, virtual sports and scratch cards.
The payment methods
The payment options offered also varies. The last few years we’ve seen a lot of new casinos without Swedish license where you can pay and make withdrawals by using Trustly and BankID. This is a Swedish payment method that you’re most likely familiar with if you’ve ever played at Swedish casinos. It’s an option on pretty much every Swedish online casino. Trustly is a Swedish company and a form of direct bank transfer. If you use this method your money will reach your bank account within a few minutes. Trustly is totally free to use.
Other common payment methods are credit cards, such as Visa, Mastercard and Maestro. Typically, the casino will also accept a few different e-transfer methods, for example Skrill and Neteller.
At some casinos without Swedish license, you will be able to play using crypto currency. Nowadays it is illegal for Swedish casinos to provide this option, but the same rules doesn’t apply at unlicensed casinos. One of the big advantages with Bitcoin and other crypto currencies is that you can be anonymous. That way no one will be able to stop your transfers.
Play during a Spelpaus
Casinos without Swedish license makes it possible to play during an active Spelpaus. Spelpaus is a shutdown tool that’s present on all Swedish sites. If you’ve activated Spelpaus, you won’t be able to play on any other place with Swedish license before your shut down period has passed. If you still want to play, however, you can still use casinos without Swedish license. These sites don’t have to follow the Swedish law.
Some downsides with playing on casinos without Swedish license
Now you might think that casinos without Swedish license are perfect. That’s not true. For instance, they usually don’t have any good ways in which a player can limit his or her gaming. If you know that you tend to play too much, it will be better for you to play at a Swedish casino. See below for all of the negative aspects:
- No Spelpaus.
- No easy way to limit your gambling.
- Slower and more complicated registration and verification.
- Not as safe for the player.
No Spelpaus
The Swedish tool Spelpaus is a system that lets players shut themselves out of all forms of gambling. When you’ve activated Spelpaus it becomes impossible to play at the Swedish market before the shutdown period is over. This is an effective tool to use when you feel like you need to cut down on your gambling.
Casinos without Swedish license don’t have this tool. You can shut yourself out of individual casinos but that’s all. If you’ve shut yourself out of your favorite casino there’s still thousands of others that can make you want to play.
No easy way to limit your gambling
At Swedish casino sites there’s limited deposits and you must register how much you’re going to play before you start. These kinds of tools are often not available on casinos that don’t have a Swedish license.
Casinos with a license from Gibraltar provide some tools, but otherwise you will most likely not be able to find anything like it on casinos without Swedish license. That could lead to problems for some people who can’t limit their gaming on their own. In some cases, it might lead to gambling problems or even addiction.
Slower and more complicated registration and verification
You will not be able to use your BankID to register on a casino without a Swedish license. Instead, you will have to give all your information when you’re creating your account.
Another disadvantage with casinos without Swedish license is that their verification process is time consuming. Some people might also find it complicated. To verify your identity, you will have to send documents to the casino. These documents will most likely include your driver’s license or passport and a bill with your name and address.
Not as safe for the player
For a Swedish player it’s much safer to play at a Swedish licensed casino, than unlicensed. Most of the casinos without license are honest and secure but there’s some scoundrels out there. These sites might refuse to let you withdraw your winnings. If that should happen to you it will be hard for you to get your money back. The casino is the expert at its country’s law, and you won’t be able to get any help from Swedish institutions.
Summary
As we’ve seen casinos without Swedish license are casino sites that don’t have Swedish licenses. Several of them welcome Swedish and other European players. There’re both positive and negative things about casinos without a Swedish license. Some of the positives are that they can offer a lot more bonuses and games. You’ll also be able to play even if you’ve clicked on Spelpaus.
On the other hand, if you feel like you play too much already, however, then we suggest that you stay away from casinos without Swedish licenses. They give you a lot more freedom to decide how much to play. If you can’t handle that freedom, it could potentially result in gambling addiction and economical ruin.
