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Sweden appears to be dealing with fewer signs of match manipulation these days. New figures from Spelinspektionen show that suspected match-fixing cases dropped again in 2025, continuing a downward slide that has now lasted for three years. On paper, it looks like progress — but the picture is a bit more complicated once you dig into it.
A Noticeable Decline, Though Not Fully Explained
The regulator received only two alerts from its partner integrity organisations throughout 2025. That’s less than half the reports submitted the year before, and far below the twelve cases flagged back in 2023.
The reduction is striking, but experts aren’t rushing to celebrate. Some believe it could reflect better preventive work. Others warn that fewer reports don’t automatically mean fewer attempts — it could also mean fixers are adjusting their tactics or moving toward markets where monitoring is weaker.
A newer reporting requirement might also be influencing the numbers. Since mid-2024, every licensed betting company in Sweden must immediately notify the regulator if they see anything suspicious. In 2025, operators filed four such reports. One overlapped with a case an integrity body had already raised. Because this obligation is still fresh, there are no older figures to use as a baseline, making it hard to interpret whether operators are under-reporting, over-reporting, or simply facing fewer questionable incidents.
Heavier Scrutiny Behind the Scenes
Spelinspektionen also spent much of last year taking a closer look at how operators handle potential manipulation. Every betting licensee went through supervisory checks that examined their internal routines, risk systems, and the way staff are expected to respond when something looks off.
The regulator’s work wasn’t limited to the domestic market either. During the UEFA Women’s European Championship in Switzerland, Swedish authorities were involved in monitoring betting activity linked to the tournament. Their efforts focused on risk analysis and prevention, and, according to the data, no suspicious betting or manipulation attempts were uncovered during the event.
Positive Signs — With Important Caveats
People involved in Sweden’s integrity work generally describe 2025 as a year where cooperation improved. Regulators, sports bodies, law-enforcement agencies, and betting companies seem to have aligned more closely than they did a few years ago, helped by the national Match-Fixing Council acting as a joint forum.
Still, there’s a clear sense of caution. Match-fixing operations don’t typically disappear — they evolve. And they often shift their attention toward places with weaker oversight or lower-tier competitions where the betting activity is easier to influence. Swedish authorities acknowledge that even if the reported cases are going down, not everything can be captured by monitoring systems.
The Road Ahead
So while 2025’s numbers look encouraging at first glance, Spelinspektionen is treating the trend as something to watch rather than a solved issue. Continued cooperation and more consistent reporting will be key to figuring out whether Sweden is genuinely seeing fewer attempts at match manipulation, or whether the activity is simply taking different forms.
The coming year will likely offer more clues — and perhaps a clearer sense of whether the decline reflects real progress or a temporary lull in a problem that rarely stays put for long.
source: www.spelinspektionen.se
