Politically affiliated lotteries will no longer be exempt from gaming tax, the government proposes. This means that these lotteries will have to pay a gaming tax of 22 percent on their revenue.
Party lotteries must also be marked with the party name and party symbol, according to the proposal. In advertisements, it must be clearly stated that a particular party is behind the lottery.
Civil Minister Erik Slottner (KD) says that it can be strongly questioned whether politically affiliated lotteries have "a free pass".
We think that the same gaming rules should apply to everyone, he says.
Not Ruling Out a Ban
Politically affiliated lotteries will also not be allowed to sell lottery tickets on credit, and the rules for bonuses will be tightened.
The Social Democrats have stated that a gaming tax of 22 percent will lead to negative results for their lotteries.
The investigator says the opposite, and then we choose to trust the investigator, says L's cultural policy spokesperson Robert Hannah.
The government emphasizes that the ban issue is still alive. However, stricter rules are considered to be able to be introduced more quickly.
A ban could take a long time to implement, while the tax and transparency requirements can have a direct effect, says Wykman.
The Sweden Democrats would have liked to see a ban, but say they are still satisfied with the proposal. Not least against the background that S is said to have renewed their lottery licenses until 2029, which means that a ban could only take effect after that.
It's clear that it affects the way we reason about which alternative is best to go with, says SD's cultural policy spokesperson Alexander Christiansson.
Silent Opponents
The proposals are proposed to come into force on January 1, 2026.
Wykman notes that the proposals have previously sparked much debate.
But then you need to step forward and explain why it shouldn't be transparent that you're contributing to a political party, why it's important that political parties running business-like activities shouldn't pay tax, he says.
From a Social Democratic perspective, the proposals have been seen as an attempt by the government to silence their political opponents.
