New report from BOS: the gambling tax increase creates one thousand new problem gamblers

The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) today presents a report produced by the analysis institute Copenhagen Economics (CE). CE has calculated what the tax increase on gambling (from 18% to 22%) from 1 July this year will lead to, on a number of key issues. CE finds that:

• The tax increase will reduce the legal regulated license market’s share of the gambling market by 1.2 -2.5 percentage points. Corresponding losses for the regulated gambling market will be taken over by the unregulated gambling market.
• Measured in number of individuals, this means that 2,881 to 6,085 individuals will switch to unlicensed alternatives.
• As a direct result of the tax increase on gambling, 591 to 1,247 people will develop gambling problems. This as a result of the loss of licensed gambling to unlicensed gambling. The unlicensed gambling lacks statutory consumer protection.
• The expected increased tax revenue is calculated by the Ministry of Finance at SEK 539 million annually. Copenhagen Economics calculates that the increased tax revenue will be significantly lower: SEK 214-399 million.

“At the price of a modest net addition to the treasury, the tax increase creates around one thousand new cases of people with gambling problems. Thus, gambling problems that would never have occurred without the increase in the gambling tax. The government should completely overhaul its gambling policy and instead protect and strengthen the legal gambling market, which offers the consumer the protection all gamblers should be able to enjoy,” says Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling.