Spelpaus explained: what “spela med spelpaus” really means

What Spelpaus is

Spelpaus.se is Sweden’s free national self-exclusion register, run by Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority. A single registration excludes you from all licensed gambling in Sweden that requires registration, whether online, in shops, at racetracks or on Vegas machines.³

Swedes often search for the service using the phrase “spela med spelpaus”, meaning “playing with Spelpaus”. Despite that wording, Spelpaus.se is a self-exclusion register, not a service for playing.³ The legal basis for the register is chapter 14, section 12 of the Swedish Gambling Act, Spellagen 2018:1138.¹

Anyone with a Swedish personal identity number or a coordination number can register.²

To register electronically, you use Mobile BankID, BankID, Freja eID+ or a foreign e-ID.⁴⁹ If you do not have an e-ID, the alternative is to send a paper form by post.⁴⁹

How long it lasts and whether you can end it

Spelpaus exclusion periods are 10 days, 1, 3 or 6 months, or until further notice, which means at least 12 months.³ Once you have confirmed an exclusion, you cannot cancel it or shorten it, even if you confirmed it by mistake.⁶

What happens at the end depends on which period you chose. A fixed-period exclusion ends automatically when that period is over; you do not have to end it yourself.⁹ An exclusion until further notice works differently: it does not end automatically after 12 months. It continues until you end it yourself, and the earliest you can do that is after 12 months.⁹

You can replace an existing exclusion with a new one, but the new exclusion must never leave you with a shorter remaining exclusion time.²

What Spelpaus blocks – and what it does not

Spelpaus blocks online casino games and slots, online betting, online bingo and online lotteries. It also blocks Vegas machines and play through retail agents in shops and at racetracks.³ It does not cover every form of gambling: the exceptions include some gambling in person, as well as gambling on ships in international traffic.⁸

The distinction between online and in-person gambling matters, but location alone does not determine whether Spelpaus applies. Online lotteries are blocked, while paper lottery tickets that are not sold online are exempt under section 2 of Spelinspektionen’s regulation SIFS 2022:2. A Triss ticket bought in a shop is one example of that exemption.³⁸

The other exemptions in section 2 are hall bingo, local horse pools, restaurant casino tables and prize machines, and gambling on ships in international traffic.⁸ Casino Cosmopol is no longer an available venue: Svenska Spel closed its last casino, in Stockholm, on 24 April 2025.¹³

Operators must check the Spelpaus register when someone signs up, at every login and before direct marketing. A stricter regulation, SIFS 2026:3, applies from 1 August 2026.⁷

Sites without a Swedish licence

Spelpaus only applies to operators with a Swedish licence. Operators without a Swedish licence do not have to offer Spelpaus or the other protections provided by the Gambling Act.¹⁰

The Gambling Act applies to online gambling aimed at the Swedish market.¹¹ To assess whether an operator is targeting that market, Spelinspektionen looks at the use of Swedish language, payments in kronor or through Swedish payment services, and marketing aimed at Sweden.¹¹

In 2024, Curaçao accounted for 38 percent of traffic to unlicensed gambling sites, and Anjouan accounted for 5 percent.¹² Sites licensed in the EU, mainly in Malta, accounted for about 13 percent of that traffic.¹²

In a Spelinspektionen survey, 41 percent of excluded players said they had gambled during their exclusion. Of those, 37 percent had gambled on unlicensed sites. Most excluded players do not gamble at all.¹²

The channelling rate in 2025 was 84 percent.¹³

Tax on winnings

Your winnings are tax-free if the operator has a Swedish licence, or if it does not need a Swedish licence and targets a market within the EEA. A win of 100 kronor or less is also tax-free.¹⁵

If those exemptions do not apply, the tax is 30 percent of your net winnings, calculated per calendar year and separately for each operator. You declare the taxable amount as capital income, and losses with one operator cannot be offset against winnings with another.¹⁵

A licence from another EEA country does not, by itself, make winnings tax-free. For example, winnings from an operator licensed in Malta are taxable if it targets Sweden without holding a Swedish licence, subject to the exemption for wins of 100 kronor or less.¹²¹⁵

For operators outside the EEA, such as those in Curaçao, winnings above 100 kronor are always taxable.¹² The same 30 percent rate and annual, per-operator calculation apply to taxable net winnings.¹⁵

Where to talk to someone

You can contact Stödlinjen, the national helpline, free of charge and anonymously on 020-81 91 00; it also has a chat.²¹ Its weekday opening hours vary: Monday 9–19, Tuesday and Wednesday 9–17, Thursday 11–19, and Friday 9–15.²² For self-help meetings, Spelberoendes Riksförbund runs groups for players and families, with meetings also available online.²³

Common questions