The Nordic region is becoming a major market at the crossroads of crypto adoption and digital gaming. As of 2025, approximately 2.18 million adults across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland now own cryptocurrency, about 10 % of the adult population, up from 9.6% just a year earlier. In Sweden alone, licensed online gambling generated SEK 27.8 billion (~€2.49 billion) in 2024, with online channels dominating the market.
Meanwhile, Finland’s total gambling market in 2025 is estimated at €2.4 billion, with the online segment accounting for around 65 % of gross gaming revenue (GGR).
These figures underline two powerful trends: a growing appetite for digital assets and a mature, tech-savvy audience in the iGaming space. Together, they set the stage for massive opportunities — especially at the intersection of Web3, crypto-enabled betting, and gamified marketing.
Today, we speak with Mikael Olsson, founder of Kryptovalutaguiden and CEO of Customer Connect (AI CRM) in Sweden. With deep experience in crypto media and performance marketing, Mikael shares his insights on how the Nordic iGaming market has transformed, why crypto may finally be entering its acceleration phase across the region, and what operators must do if they’re serious about growth.
I launched my first online company back in 2000…when people actually believed the Internet was dead… but took it to 6 countries and sold it 6 years later. With 0 investor money
Sweden is often cited as the country with the highest number of regular bettors per capita. From your perspective, what are the key drivers behind that?
It comes from Sweden’s old state monopoly with “Svenska Spel” founded in 1873 with a state lottery. In 1934, Svenska Spel launched betting on football, and they are still the largest company within betting in Sweden. The launch of many private Swedish betting companies, such as Unibet, Betsson. LeoVegas and many more have also contributed to the big betting market in Sweden.
How has the iGaming market in the Nordics changed over the past 3-5 years, in terms of player behavior and marketing strategies?
The competition is increasing with new “old school” casino brands coming to the market and also more Swedes tend to use crypto betting sites. The most professional and well-funded brands do multi-channel advertising to build awareness in this market.
From a publisher’s standpoint (and media like Kryptovalutaguiden), what do you see as the biggest opportunities and risks for iGaming operators in Nordic markets?
The big opportunity is to do more than “only” advertising on Kryptovalutaguiden – and we do help brands to spread in hundreds of media and also with local influencers from Sweden and the Nordics. The risk is if brands do to small campaigns… for obvious reasons.
Crypto adoption in the Nordics is often described as modest compared to some other markets (e.g., U.S., Asia). What do you think are the main reasons?
Sweden has had a good and clear regulation of crypto for 10 years but not more than 7% adoption. Why is that? Probably because the local crypto companies have been too modest in marketing. You could also speculate in the political sector, where the Swedish government does not show interest in this technology and industry. We were on the frontline when it came to telecom and internet in the 90s, but not when it comes to crypto and web3.
Despite the slower uptake, where do you see the greatest growth potential for crypto adoption in the Nordics over the next 2-3 years? How strong do you see the Nordics as a region for crypto casino growth?
Since we have a low adoption, the potential for growth is high. Higher than most countries. With the MiCA regulation, this is bound to happen, and I see signs that banks and the government finally seem to get on board. All the listed crypto companies in Sweden (and also in Norway, Denmark and Finland) are pushing more on marketing now and going forward.
I’m an entrepreneurial person and really lousy on admin stuff… but I am Ok with building startups, teams and creating fast-growing companies
The implementation of MiCA in Europe is a major regulatory milestone. How do you see it affecting crypto advertising in Sweden and the other Nordic countries?
I have already seen a big growth in marketing efforts. Both from local companies but also from global exchanges and crypto casinos. And this is because of MiCA. We have had new customers since August this year, launching in the Nordics. Some of them launch in Europe for the first time, so MiCA is definitely very positive.
Do you expect regulation to stifle innovation in crypto marketing, or will it create clearer frameworks that enable more professional growth?
It’s only positive!
What content types or campaigns have performed best for your readers – e.g., educational crypto content, yield-earning, DeFi or maybe iGaming + crypto?
A very hard question to answer… but the ones with a proper budget and insight into the importance of doing real brand awareness and long-term campaigns always work the best. A combo of educational content, promoting campaigns, pushing on USPs and also to deliver to new FTDs from each brand’s side.
What marketing models (e.g., affiliate marketing, native advertising, programmatic ads) are working best in crypto casino verticals today? Why?
A combination… but again, the brands with the best marketing plan and people are the ones who succeed the most. They do Native ads with us, we help them to manage programmatic, we do “gerilla marketing” on +30 social media groups and this multi-marketing approach is the way to go. You always get the result based on your budget, knowledge and efforts to always enhance your marketing. Some small efforts with only an affiliate are not enough.
What do you see as the biggest opportunities and risks for iGaming operators in Nordic markets?
To gain customers from the young group of people and gain market share from old school brands and to attract also the older people who used to bet on the old platforms such as Svenska Spel, Unibet, Betsson, and many more.
Since the overall betting market grows (because of a growing population) and since crypto adoption is growing, there are lots and lots of opportunities for the best brands. Meaning the ones with knowledge and a long-term commitment to build a brand here.
The risks… is if the brands do to small efforts. And also if the old school brands start to market crypto betting. They do not do this at this moment in time but sooner or later, I guess they will. So here they have a great opportunity to take market share as the crypto betting brands
There are a lot of opportunities in Sweden and the Nordics… and the only risk, as I see it, is if the brands are not good enough in Marketing
At Bitmedia, we share Mikael’s belief that education, consistency, and smart marketing are the forces behind the next phase of crypto and iGaming growth in the Nordics. With MiCA setting clearer rules across Europe, advertisers now have an opportunity to build trust and expand their reach. Our mission is to help innovative brands connect with the right audiences through performing Web3 advertising.
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