Erik Eldhagen handed Swedish gambling brief ahead of expected reforms

11/28/25

The new state secretary will have responsibility for gambling regulation as well as financial markets and state properties.

Sweden.- The Swedish government has appointed Erik Eldhagen as a new state secretary with responsibility for gambling regulation. He will work alongside Niklas Wykman, the minister for financial markets. As well as gambling, he will also be responsible for markets, state-owned properties and the financing of new nuclear power initiatives in Sweden.

Eldhagen most recently comes from the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, where he was head of the International Secretariat. He has experience in various management roles at the Ministry of Finance and has also worked as an advisor at the World Bank.

He will take up the new role on December 1. It remains to be seen whether the move will see any significant changes in proposed reforms to gambling regulation. The government already intends to introduce amendments to the Swedish Gambling Act of 2019, which paved the way for the opening of regulated online gambling.

As proposed by inspector Marcus Isgren, the reforms will include the removal of the requirement for unlicensed operators to use Swedish language or Swedish payment options for them to be considered as targeting the market. The Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has long called for this to be changed, viewing the clause as a loophole that allows some offshore operators to evade enforcement.

In October, the government also published legislation that will introduce a stricter ban on gambling with credit from April 1, 2026.

Spelinspektionen itself has seen changes at the top, with Johan Röhr stepping in as acting director general on November 1 following the departure of Camilla Rosenberg after eight years.

The regulator recently proposed on plans to introduce new regulations for the Swedish national gambling self-exclusion register, Spelpaus.se. Licensees will have to use specific connection details (Actor ID and API Key) and the correct API must be used depending on the purpose of the control. 

https://focusgn.com/erik-eldhagen-takes-on-gambling-brief-in-sweden