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Illegal online gambling operators continue to find new ways of reaching Swedish consumers despite years of regulatory action, using everything from influencers and search engines to sponsored news articles and AI-generated celebrity endorsements to promote casinos outside Sweden’s licensing system.
A report by the Swedish Gambling Authority concludes that while licensed operators still account for most gambling advertising seen by the public, unlicensed companies have established a sophisticated digital ecosystem that is far more difficult to monitor than traditional advertising. The authority argues that the problem extends beyond illegal marketing itself, warning that these campaigns risk steering players away from Sweden’s regulated market and exposing younger audiences to gambling products that operate without domestic safeguards.
Affiliate Networks Keep the System Running
Much of the illegal advertising identified by regulators begins with affiliate marketers rather than gambling operators themselves.
These affiliates operate as intermediaries, directing internet traffic toward gambling websites through comparison pages, promotional links and search-optimised content. The authority describes the networks behind many of these websites as highly anonymous, making it difficult to determine who is responsible or where the operations are based.
Searches for phrases such as casinos without a Swedish licence or casinos without Spelpaus frequently lead users into complex chains of affiliate websites. Many exist only briefly before disappearing and reappearing under new domain names. Although the websites often change, internet traffic data indicates that a large proportion of their visitors continue to come from Swedish IP addresses.
Some marketing pages use Swedish-language domains and appear to represent a single gambling brand before redirecting visitors to English-language gambling sites with similar branding. Regulators believe this structure may be intended to attract Swedish players while distancing the actual gambling operation from Swedish supervision.
Sponsored Articles Are Blurring Editorial Boundaries
The report also identifies a growing presence of sponsored articles that resemble ordinary news reporting.
Advertising-funded online newspapers, particularly local publications, have carried Swedish-language articles promoting unlicensed gambling websites or affiliate pages that eventually direct readers to them. The authority estimates that more than 200 such articles appeared during 2024.
Although presented in a journalistic style, these articles often encourage readers to gamble outside Sweden’s licensing system, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to distinguish between independent editorial content and commercial promotion.
Influencers Continue to Drive Gambling Traffic
Livestreaming platforms remain among the most significant channels for illegal gambling marketing.
Twitch has become the platform most closely associated with the promotion of unlicensed casinos, according to the authority. Influencers distribute affiliate links, campaign codes and deposit bonuses while broadcasting casino gameplay to audiences that can number in the thousands.
Some promotions go beyond simple advertising. Leaderboards reward viewers who wager the most after registering through an influencer’s link, while giveaways and interactive competitions encourage continued participation. The authority says these features blur the line between entertainment and gambling promotion.
Regulatory action has reduced the number of major Swedish influencers openly targeting domestic audiences. Even so, some creators have shifted their broadcasts toward international viewers, while others have relocated to competing platforms.
Kick Has Become a Growing Alternative
As Twitch has increased its moderation of gambling-related content, Kick has emerged as an attractive alternative for casino streamers.
Although its Swedish audience remains considerably smaller, the platform has grown steadily in popularity. Regulators say casino streaming occupies a prominent position on the service and note that they are unaware of Swedish influencers being removed from Kick for promoting illegal gambling.
YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok largely function as supporting channels. Clips from livestreams, disappearing stories and promotional posts are used to funnel followers back toward gambling streams or affiliate websites rather than serving as primary marketing platforms themselves.
Artificial Intelligence Is Creating New Risks
One of the report’s more striking findings concerns the growing use of artificial intelligence in gambling advertising.
The Gambling Authority has identified advertisements on Meta’s platforms that use AI-generated depictions of Swedish politicians, athletes, journalists and influencers without their permission. These fabricated endorsements can give illegal gambling promotions an appearance of legitimacy despite having no connection to the individuals shown.
Although many of the campaigns appear to have reached relatively limited audiences, regulators consider the trend particularly concerning because Facebook and Instagram remain among Sweden’s most widely used social media platforms.
Artificial intelligence is also making programmatic advertising more difficult to police. According to the authority, advertisers increasingly exploit automated advertising systems by disguising gambling advertisements through misleading categorisations and redirect links that bypass publisher controls.
Private Communities Are Harder to Monitor
Not all gambling marketing takes place in public view.
Discord servers operated by influencers have become places where affiliate links circulate alongside discussions about payment methods and techniques for bypassing geographic restrictions on gambling websites. Some communities also organise prize draws requiring participants to register with gambling operators before becoming eligible.
Telegram currently plays a relatively small role in Sweden, but regulators believe encrypted messaging services could become increasingly important if gambling marketing continues moving away from public platforms.
SMS Campaigns Continue to Reach Swedish Phones
Direct marketing remains one of the authority’s most persistent concerns.
Swedish consumers regularly report receiving unsolicited text messages promoting unlicensed gambling websites. Some messages explicitly advertise the ability to gamble despite registration with Sweden’s national self-exclusion system, Spelpaus.
The authority says the campaigns often rely on international SMS aggregators that make identifying the original sender extremely difficult. Similar promotional activity also occurs through email, including messages sent to people who never knowingly opened an account with the advertised gambling operators.
Advertising Networks Are Being Exploited
Illegal gambling advertisements have also appeared on mainstream Swedish websites through automated advertising systems.
Banner advertisements have been detected on publisher websites, sometimes only behind subscription paywalls or during limited periods, making them harder for regulators to document.
The authority says publishers have reported that advertisers increasingly exploit weaknesses in automated advertising systems, using redirect chains and false classifications to avoid being blocked before advertisements are displayed.
Search engine optimisation campaigns represent another challenge. Websites designed primarily to improve search rankings often disguise marketing as informational content before directing users through affiliate links toward unlicensed gambling operators.
Esports Presents a Different Challenge
Unlike domestic Swedish sport, where sponsorship by unlicensed gambling operators is relatively uncommon, esports remains heavily exposed to offshore gambling brands.
Crypto casinos and skin betting operators continue to sponsor teams, tournaments, broadcasts and jerseys across competitive gaming. Although these promotions are generally aimed at international audiences rather than Sweden specifically, regulators believe they still influence Swedish consumers, particularly younger viewers who make up a large share of esports audiences.
The authority also notes that internet traffic from Sweden has increased following sponsorship of major Counter-Strike tournaments by skin betting operators.
Enforcement Is Expanding Beyond Gambling Operators
Rather than focusing solely on the companies offering illegal gambling, regulators have increasingly targeted those promoting the services.
During 2025, the Gambling Authority handled eleven marketing-related enforcement cases, including six involving influencers and five concerning online advertising banners. According to the report, all completed cases resulted in the illegal marketing being removed, with regulators also seeing indications that gambling promotion through influencers and banner advertising has declined more broadly.
The authority has also expanded supervision of gambling software suppliers, which are prohibited from providing software to illegal operators. Investigators found that some offshore gambling websites falsely used recognised software brands while offering pirated versions of popular games.
In March 2026, an influencer was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison for several economic offences, including promoting unlawful gambling. The authority describes the case as the first conviction involving an influencer for promoting illegal online gambling in Sweden.
A Proposed Legal Change Could Widen Enforcement Powers
Despite growing enforcement activity, regulators acknowledge that many gambling websites attracting Swedish players remain outside their reach.
Current legislation largely depends on whether an operator actively targets Sweden. As a result, internationally marketed gambling websites that attract substantial Swedish traffic may avoid enforcement if they do not specifically direct advertising at Swedish consumers.
The government has proposed replacing that targeting standard with a participation-based approach, meaning gambling would be considered to take place in Sweden whenever people located in the country are able to participate.
The Gambling Authority believes such a change would significantly strengthen its ability to intervene against offshore operators that currently benefit from marketing aimed at global audiences while continuing to attract Swedish players.
For regulators, the challenge is no longer simply identifying illegal gambling advertisements. It is keeping pace with an online marketing ecosystem that changes platforms, domains and promotional tactics almost as quickly as enforcement action can remove them.
