What are casinos without Spelpaus?

"Casinos without Spelpaus" are online gambling sites that are not bound by Sweden's national self-exclusion register, Spelpaus.se. Under the Swedish Gambling Act (Spellag 2018:1138, as of October 2026), an exclusion registered through Spelpaus applies at every licence holder, so a site that ignores it is, in practice, a site without a Swedish licence. Offering gambling in Sweden requires a licence, and promoting participation in unlicensed gambling is a crime that can carry up to two years in prison. We do not list, name or link to these sites.

What is Spelpaus and who has to honour it?

Spelpaus.se is "a service from Spelinspektionen", the Swedish Gambling Authority. You exclude yourself once, and the block covers all gambling that requires registration with every company licensed in Sweden.

On its site, as of October 2026, you can choose:

• 10 days
• 1 month
• 3 months
• 6 months
• Until further notice (at least 12 months)

Spelpaus.se says an exclusion "cannot be undone or ended early" (our translation). You confirm it with an e-ID such as BankID or Freja eID+, and there is a separate form for people without an e-ID.

The legal basis is in the Gambling Act:

• Chapter 14, section 12: a player can exclude themselves from all gambling that requires registration by notifying the authority, and the exclusion applies at all licence holders.
• Chapter 13, section 4: a temporary gambling account may not be opened for a player who is in the self-exclusion register.
• Chapter 14, section 11: licence holders must also let registered players exclude themselves at that operator, and those offering online casino, online bingo or computer-simulated slot games must offer an immediate 24-hour exclusion.

Is it legal to play at a casino without Spelpaus?

The Swedish Gambling Act sets out the position for operators and promoters:

• Licence required. Under chapter 3, section 3, anyone providing gambling needs a licence unless the law says otherwise.
• Promotion banned. Chapter 3, section 7 prohibits promoting participation in unlawful gambling in business or for profit, including gambling without the necessary licence.
• Criminal penalty. Under chapter 19, section 2, intentionally or grossly negligently promoting such gambling can be punished with a fine or up to two years in prison.

Spelinspektionen says one of its main tasks is to reduce illegal gambling. It can ban operators without the proper permits, but only a court can impose a penalty, and it reports suspected crimes to the police and prosecutors rather than investigating them itself.

Those are the facts about operators and promoters. They are also the reason this page does not point anyone towards unlicensed sites.

Why do people search for casinos without Spelpaus?

Some people find Swedish rules restrictive; Spelinspektionen notes, for example, that licensed operators may only offer a bonus the first time someone gambles with them. Others have paused through Spelpaus and want to play anyway. If you are in that second group, wanting to play during a pause is a signal to get more support, not a reason to feel you have failed.

What are the risks?

• Your pause stops working. Spelpaus covers companies licensed in Sweden. A site outside the licensing system has no Swedish duty to check it.
• No Swedish duty of care. Spelinspektionen says licence holders must counteract excessive gambling, help players reduce their gambling when there is reason to, and may not offer credit. An unlicensed site has none of those Swedish obligations.
• Nowhere to take a dispute. A site outside the Swedish system is outside Spelinspektionen's supervision. If it points to an offshore licence, that regulator may not help either: the Curaçao Gaming Authority says it "is not a civil court and cannot order gaming operators to compensate players".
• Withheld winnings and data risks. If a withdrawal is refused or an account closed, you may have no practical way to recover the money, and you will have given identity and payment details to a business no Swedish regulator supervises.

Our page on unlicensed casino red flags covers the warning signs, and our explainers on the Curaçao licence and the MGA licence explain what those licences do and do not cover.

How do you check whether a site is licensed in Sweden?

1. Open Spelinspektionen's licence and permit directory. It offers the list of gambling operators as a downloadable spreadsheet.
2. Find the company named in the site's terms and check it holds a current licence for the type of gambling you want.
3. Check that the website you are using belongs to that licensed company.
4. If anything does not match, do not deposit.

Our guide on how to verify a gambling licence explains how to read national registers.

What are the licensed alternatives?

If you have not paused and want to play online in Sweden, use only companies licensed by Spelinspektionen. They must honour Spelpaus, offer their own limits and exclusions, and follow the Swedish duty-of-care rules. Our online casinos hub explains in general terms how licensed online casinos work. We do not currently publish Swedish listings.

If you have paused, the licensed alternative is not to play until the pause ends.

What to do next if you have paused through Spelpaus

• Talk to someone. Stödlinjen, run by Stockholms läns sjukvårdsområde (Stockholm's regional health service) with support from the Public Health Agency of Sweden, is free and anonymous on 020-81 91 00.
• Choose a longer pause next time if a short one was not enough; "until further notice" lasts at least 12 months.
• Add device blocking. Free tools such as BetBlocker work on computers and phones. Our guide on how to block gambling sites compares the options.
• Ask your bank whether it can block gambling payments on your cards, and what that block does not cover.
• Report an unlicensed site to Spelinspektionen through its contact page.
• If you have lost money to an unlicensed site, our complaints hub sets out what is realistic. More support is on our safer gambling hub.