Svenska Spel and ATG, Sweden’s former monopolies, dominated the country’s newly reorganized online gambling market during the first quarter of the year, data released by Spelinspektionen showed
Digital gambling revenue from regulated operations totaled SEK3.288 billion ($353.7 million) for the three months ended March 31, 2019, and more than half of that revenue was generated by Svenska Spel and ATG (about SEK1.645 billion).
Svenska Spel’s online revenue stood at SEK577 million at the end of this year’s first quarter, while ATG generated the amount of SEK1.068 billion during the reviewed period. Both companies were among the few state-authorized providers of gambling services before the implementation of Sweden’s new gambling law on January 1, 2019.
Through its brands, Svenska Spel now operates online and retail sports betting, online gaming and land-based casinos, and a number of other gambling services. ATG provides horse race betting services to Swedish customers.
Following the reorganization process early this year, interested international gambling companies were allowed to enter the local regulated market with licenses from Spelinspektionen. Svenska Spel and ATG are thus now competing with more than 60 locally licensed international operators.
Online Gambling Association Roasts ATG, Svenska Spel
Earlier this month, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling – BOS – filed a complaint to the Swedish Competition Authority, arguing that ATG has deployed unfair practices regarding to whom it has allowed access to its pools.
BOS said in its complaint that ATG has opened up its pools to foreign gambling companies that do not hold licenses from Spelinspektionen, while denying access to locally licensed operators, including Betsson and Kindred Group.
In its complaint, the trade association requested that pools are opened for licensed operators on the same terms as they are used by foreign companies.
BOS has also previously filed a complaint against Svenska Spel, arguing that the former monopoly has deployed various unfair practices to promote its newly launched online casino services to its existing land-based casino client base that it had built for years.
The trade association has said that Svenska Spel’s actions ran afoul of the principles the Swedish Government enforced, under which gambling services should be provided at equally competitive terms for all industry participants.
Svenska Spel announced earlier this month that it has decided to withdraw all online casino adverts across all media channels until the end of the year. The company said it has come to that decision after “intensive internal discussions”.
News about Svenska Spel withdrawing its ads came shortly after the publication of a survey by the Swedish Public Health Agency that showed certain worrying patterns in the behavior of the nation’s gamblers.
The former gambling monopoly said that the termination of its online casino ads was hoped to help reduce the exposure of vulnerable people to the risks associated with gambling, and that while no direct link between gambling adverts and problem behavior has been discovered, problem gamblers might feel triggered by ads.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
