The road to gaming in Sweden has gone through some patchy times, but as of today, gambling is legal within the country for the purchase of lottery tickets, playing slot machines, and gambling online. Of course, the minimum age for doing this is 18 and any form of casino or gaming establishment, be it land-based or online, requires a licence in order to operate.
It is said that in the year of 1020, King Olaf of Sweden met with his Norwegian enemy in order to decide a territorial dispute. This was done not with an all out battle, but with a simple game of dice. However, times have changed since then, and in more recent decades, the government hasn’t allowed the industry to very freely develop. All forms of gambling have their own restrictions in order to help regulate the industry as much as possible. As far as land-based establishments go, the country only has four casinos, all of which are controlled by the state monopoly, which is known as Svenska Spel. The government has only licensed the company to open six brick and mortar casinos, with plans still in the works for the other two to be built. All of these are called Casino Cosmopol, and they are located in the following cities; Sundsvall, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.
Each of the land-based establishments offer the regular gambling options, from such games as Roulette and Blackjack, though to slots and Sic Bo. Being owned by the aforementioned Svenska Spel, they make up for 50% of the gambling market within the country. As such, they have many branded games under them, including some bingo and poker options, as well as scratch cards and lotteries. All profit earned by the company goes directly into the national treasury of Sweden, and in 2011, they paid out a total of SEK 12 billion, with 347 winners becoming millionaires in the process.
