Is Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm Potentially the Final Remaining Land-Based Casino in Sweden

The popularity of land-based gambling is declining due to the prominence of online casinos in Sweden to the point that the Cosmopol Casino in Stockholm might remain the only physical casino in the Scandinavian country. We will explore the state of land-based gambling in Sweden and discuss the existing casinos.

Casino Cosmopol Stockholm: The Last Swedish Casino

Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm might soon become the only physical casino in all of Sweden. Well, technically it already is. Casino Cosmopol is currently the only active land-based casino in the country, so unless new locations are opened in the future, the Stockholm venue could be the very last Swedish casino.

History of Swedish Land-Based Gambling

Let’s first discuss the history of Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm and that of other land-based casinos that have already closed their doors.

According to historical sources, the very first casino to open doors in Sweden was the Casino Ramlosa Brunn which allegedly started operations sometime in the 18th century. However, due to pressure stemming from the church, the casino closed less than a century later.

Sweden only started legalising forms of gambling in 1897, beginning with the lottery. Following that, slowly, but steadily, Sweden legalised all forms of gambling, including sports betting, bingo, sweepstakes and casino style gaming. Still, it wasn’t until 2001 that Sweden got a land-based casino of its own.

Through an act of Parliament in 1999, Sweden allowed for the establishment of physical casinos. The only condition was that the casinos be operated by Svenska Spel, a state-owned gambling provider which until recently had the exclusive right to conduct all forms of gambling in Sweden. Svenska Spel created a subsidiary company, Casino Cosmopol, to exclusively operate land-based casinos.

The first casino to open was Casino Cosmopol in Sundsvall on 1 July, 2001. The casino was housed in the breath-taking old railway station (built in 1874) which was refurbished for the occasion. The casino originally featured 15 different tables for games like roulette and 150 slot machines.

Soon after, Svenska Spel opened another Casino Cosmopol in Malmö in December of the same year. Casino Cosmopol Malmö was bigger, offering 26 tables and 260 slot machines. Due to the success of both casinos, a third one in Gothenburg opened doors in August 2002 with 26 tables, 343 slot machines and 17 poker tables.

Svenska Spel announced the biggest casino yet to date to open in Stockholm. Casino Cosmopol Stockholm, housed in a building that previously hosted a nightclub, was opened on 13 March 2003. The casino featured 36 game tables and 399 slots. Some of the available table games include roulette, poker, blackjack, baccarat and sic-bo.

The Swedish government was considering adding another two casinos, but it eventually decided against it.

Reasons for the Closure of Swedish Casinos

While initially popular, the Cosmopol Casinos around Sweden started experiencing a rapid decline in the 2010’s . It goes without saying that the main reason for said decline was the rise of online gambling in Sweden. Although the state had a monopoly on gambling (including online), many Swedes gambled at offshore casino sites.

The Swedish government conducted numerous researches over the years to establish the number of people choosing to gamble at overseas operators, and eventually, it gave in and it legalised commercial online gambling in 2019, essentially destroying its own monopoly on gambling.

Thereby, it’s no wonder that the first Svenska Spel-owned casino, Casino Cosmopol Sundvall, closed doors in 2020. The same year, as we all remember but wish to forget, the Covid-19 pandemic started and made land-based gambling impossible. Even avid supporters of offline gambling started changing their tune and migrating online as there were no other gaming opportunities for a long time.

Perhaps Svenska Spel hoped that with the end of the pandemic gamblers would start visiting casinos again, but unfortunately, this didn’t happen. The three remaining Swedish casinos continued to experience losses, while the licensed online gambling operators reaped success.

The popularity of online gambling presents a problem to land-based casinos all around the world, but the situation in Sweden seems even worse. As a result of meagre profit, Svenska Spel announced the closure of the casinos in Malmö and Gothenburg; both of them closed doors on 24 February 2024.

Conclusion

The fate of Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm is uncertain. The naysayers will tell you that the casino’s revenue would only decrease with time, but it’s currently making enough to stay afloat. According to estimates by various independent sources, Casino Cosmopol generates between 125 and 130 million euro in annual revenue.

While this sounds good on paper, we don’t know what Svenska Spel might decide to do in the future. Still, we hope that the state-owned company would not close the only remaining casino in Sweden, even if only for the sentimental value that Swedes hold for land-based casino gambling.

Additionally, the Swedish government might change its gambling legislation to allow for the opening of commercial physical casinos. Currently, only Svenska Spel can operate land-based casino but if the market were to open for commercial operators, some businesses might be interested in exploring their options.

That way, the government would profit off taxes and not have to handle day-to-day operations. Just a thought, Sweden!

FAQ

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