SWEDES GOING AFTER EURO 45 MILLION IN EVADED ONLINE GAMBLING TAXES?

8 February 2008

Affiliates and poker players alike could be getting a nasty tax bill


Swedish media reports and blogs are increasingly carrying news of a Swedish crackdown on alleged tax evasion by online gambling players and marketing affiliates that could reach a total figure as high as Euro 45 million.

The Swedish tax authorities, or Skatteverket, together with the National Economic Crimes Bureau and the Swedish Gaming Board have for some months been investigating online gaming in the Scandinavian country, infamous for its state monopoly on gambling, and have already asked several major companies to provide information (see previous InfoPowa reports)

It appears that this investigation has now been extended to embrace Swedish online players and affiliates, too with tax evasion figures of Euro 27.3 million and Euro 5 million currently owing from online gambling affiliates and players respectively. All of those identified are understood to be resident in and operating from Swedish soil, and could be liable for tax rates as high as 57 percent and draconian penalties.

In late November last year (see previous InfoPowa report) the Skatteverket claimed that online poker site Multipoker.com owed SEK40 million or Euro 4.3 million in unpaid taxes as part of the government's ongoing investigation into online gaming in Sweden.

Information being exchanged on blogs and in the media suggests that Swedish investigators use Xenon web crawler technology to search and identify suspicious websites for further enquiry, and that tax authorities collaborate internationally in probes of this nature. It is understood that Swedish internet infrastructure and domain providers have also been approached for confidential information, including those handling online poker clients.

The Swedish government is currently in the sights of the European Commission for its monopolistic and discriminatory policies regarding online gambling, which exclude companies from fellow EU nations from entering the lucrative and State dominated Swedish gambling market.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa