How Popular is Online Poker in Sweden?

Sweden is home to some of the best poker players in the world. Take Martin Jacobson as an example. The 33-year-old is the proud winner of the 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event, an achievement that came with a $10 million cash prize.

Next is Viktor Blom, a 30-year-old who infamously lost $1 million before winning $6 million in a span of sox weeks playing poker in 2009. Another famous Swedish poker expert is Niklas Astedt, an online poker gambler who’ve amassed over $1 million by winning high-stake games.

Of course, a few successful famous poker players don’t say much about Sweden’s love for poker. So, read our article below to discover how the game got so popular in Sweden.

Legal Gambling Laws

Online gambling is legal in Sweden. And since 2018, it has expanded to welcome more operators. Under Sweden’s gambling laws, poker is one of the many games allowed at online casinos. That said, people in Sweden have been playing poker for many years.

See, Sweden doesn’t its citizens from gambling at offshore casinos. However, it runs online gambling through a government organization called Svenska Spel. Logically, Svenska Spel is the most popular online poker provider in Sweden.

But as mentioned, some people prefer to bet at offshore casinos. Martin Jacobson is a great example. He works as an ambassador for the British gambling brand: 888 Poker. There are a lot more foreign poker sites that accept people from Sweden. Discover the best sites at www.casinoutansvenskalicensen.se/.

No Taxes on Winnings

Sweden’s new online gambling laws went into effect on January 1, 2019. The laws require that businesses wishing to provide casino games in Sweden to acquire a license from the Swedish Gambling Authority. The process is long but straightforward.

Sweden’s online casinos also need to pay 18% of their profits as tax. But get this—players are allowed to keep 100% of their profits. This little privilege is a great reason why online poker keeps growing in the Nordic nation.

You could win €100 or €1 million and the government won’t take a cut from your profits. Sweden isn’t the only country where players don’t get taxed on gambling wins. Canada and the UK are other great examples. And in these countries, online casinos are tremendously popular as well.

A Supportive Culture

In some countries, gambling is a vice discouraged often. In Sweden, playing casino games is a fun leisure activity involving players from all walks of life. To provide some context, Sweden’s leading poker site Svenska Spel, ranks in the top 20 list of the most visited poker websites in the world.

In other words, people generally love to play poker in Sweden and it has something to do with the country’s culture. Unlike some countries, Sweden allows poker tournaments in every city, at homes and on the Internet. Playing the game with friends doesn’t ask for a license.

But you might need a permit to host a poker event where winning large sums of money is involved. That said, there’s almost no need to organize own competitions when there are so many places you can play the game. Of course, the best place is online, at least if you’re after convenience.

Free to Play Apps and Websites

Visit any free to play poker website or app and there’s a chance you’ll find Swedish players. Many developers already know Sweden is a hotspot for poker fans, so they create their apps to support the Swedish language, the Krona and local payment options if banking is involved.

Generally speaking, many Swedes visit free to play poker sites and apps to improve their skills or loosen up without spending cash. Afterwards, they can create accounts at real money poker websites to play Texas Hold’em or Omaha for real money.

The best part about free to play poker sites is that they provide loads of poker games free. You can play 5-card, Caribbean Poker, Hi and Hi-Lo all without spending a dime. Of course, this also means you can’t win real money. But that’s alright.

Lots of Successful Poker Players

As we mentioned earlier, Sweden is home to some of the most famous poker players in the world. This didn’t happen by coincidence. It’s the country’s culture of supporting poker players that helped create these world champions.

Martin Jacobson, who won the 2014 WSOP Main Event, is the present Number One poker player in the country. He boasts of accumulated profits worth $17 million. Chris Bjorn, a London-based Swede who’ve finished in the paying bracelets of WSOP Main Events for over five times ranks second.

Michael Tureniec is the third most successful poker player in Sweden with profits worth $5.1 million. Martin De Knijff follows next at $3.8 million, then Johan Storakers at the fifth position. Viktor Blom, the explosive player famous for losing several high-stakes games ranks 7^th with profits worth $3 million.

Overall, the top 100 poker players in Sweden have accumulated profits of at least $390,000 each. The top 70 players have all won at least $500,000 while nearly 50 competitors have profits of above $1 million each.

The Offshore Casino Market

As we mentioned earlier, Sweden has been working toward commercializing online casinos. In the past, it only allowed Svenska Spel. These days, however, the Scandinavian nation permits private operators to offer casino services in Sweden.

Still, to be clear, there’s an even bigger supply of online casinos overseas. In fact, the offshore casino market is a huge reason behind the success of poker in Sweden. Sure, people can always play at Svenska Spel. But players looking for better customer service, a wide variety of games and a larger pool of players can find them at offshore casinos.

The beauty of it all is that many offshore casinos are safe. Swedish players don’t have to risk their money while trying to find offshore casinos. They can choose, licensed, secure operators based in the UK or Malta. Then they can use their preferred payment options and play poker and more casino games stress-free.