Sweden is gearing up preparations for the reorganization of its gambling markets; 57 licenses issued so far by the local regulator
The Swedish Gambling Authority generously opened its bag of licenses last week to award the latest bundle of permits to gambling companies interested to operate in Sweden’s regulated market from January 1, 2019.
Lotteriinspektionen, soon-to-be-renamed as Spelinspektionen, issued a total of 26 licenses in the pre-Christmas week. Including those, the gambling regulator has granted as many as 57 licenses since late November when it first started revealing those that would be allowed to operate in Sweden, once its new gambling law takes effect.
A full list of all approved candidates will be displayed below. It should also be noted that several of the licensees revealed last week included major industry players such as online gambling company 888 Holdings, which had applied for the provision of online casino and betting services, Betfair, which too will be allowed to offer online casino and sports betting products, and Swedish gambling group Cherry AB, which will provide Swedish customers with land-based casino gambling products as well as with online casino and betting services.
It was a big week for Cherry. Not only did the company and its subsidiaries ComeOn Sweden and Cherry Spelglädje AB receive coveted licenses from Lotteriinspektionen, but it also received a SEK9.19 billion (approx. $1 billion, €893.9 million) offer from British private equity firm Bridgepoint. An independent bid committee recommended that Cherry shareholders accept the offer, which means that the Swedish gambling company could soon be at the center of a major acquisition deal and be taken private afterwards.
Sweden Gears Up Preparations for New Gambling Law
As mentioned earlier, Sweden’s new gambling law will take effect on January 1, 2019 to reorganize the local market in a manner that would allow international companies to operate in a regulated environment.
Lotteriinspektionen has warned gambling operators that come January 1, it will be illegal to target Swedish gamblers without a license from the regulator. Companies that have applied for a license, but have not received one yet, will too be prohibited from operating in Sweden. If found to be violating the new rules, such companies could be deprived of the chance to receive authorization to enter the Scandinavian country’s newly liberalized market.
It has been for several years now that the growth of Sweden’s gambling market has been primarily driven by unlicensed operators. According to the latest figures released by Lotteriinspektionen, the unregulated market grew 12.4% during the first three quarters of the year. Unlicensed operators generated revenue of SEK4.546 billion during that period.
In comparison, Sweden’s regulated market posted a 2.4% decrease for the same nine months to SEK12.239 billion. In addition, local media research firm Mediavision has found that the majority of new gambling accounts were registered with international operators over the past year.
Full list of licensed operators:
888 Sweden Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
AB Svenska Spel (license for state-run lottery and gaming machines)
AB Trav och Galopp (online gaming and sports betting)
AG Communications Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
AHA Bingo Limited (online gaming)
Auto Nordic Ltd (online gaming)
Baltic Casino (land-based commercial casino)
Bayton Limited (online gaming)
Betfair International Plc (online gaming and sports betting)
Bethard Group Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
Betspawn AB (online gaming and sports betting)
Betsson Nordic Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Betway Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
Blue Star Planet Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
BS Nordic Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Casino Cosmopol AB (state-run casino gaming)
Casinostugan Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Casumo Services (online gaming and sports betting)
Cerberus Technology Limited (online gaming)
Cherry Casino Sweden Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Cherry Spelglädje AB (land-based commercial casino)
Co-Gaming Sweden Ltd (online gaming)
ComeOn Sweden Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Dumarca Gaming Ltd (online gaming)
ElectraWorks Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
Enlabs AB (online gaming and sports betting)
Evoke Gaming Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Expekt Nordics Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Genesis Global Limited (online gaming)
Hajper Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Hillside (Sports) ENC (online sports betting)
Hillside (Gaming) ENC (online gaming)
Interwetten Gaming Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
L&L Europe Limited (online gaming)
Leisure Spin Ltd (online gaming)
LeoVegas Gaming plc (online gaming and sports betting)
Mandalorian Technologies Limited (online gaming)
MOA Gaming Sweden Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Mr Green Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
MT SecureTrade Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Multi Brand Gaming Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
NGG Nordic Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Paf Consulting Abp (online gaming and sports betting)
Polar Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
SafeEnt Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
Skill On Net Ltd (online gaming)
Snabbare Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Spooniker Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
SuprPlay Limited (online gaming)
Svenska Spel Sport & Casino AB (online gaming and sports betting)
Tipwin Limited (online gaming and sports betting)
TSG Interactive PLC (online gaming and sports betting)
Tombola (International) PLC (online gaming)
United Lottery Solutions Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
Videoslots Ltd (online gaming)
Viral Interactive Limited (online gaming)
XC Gaming Sweden Ltd (online gaming)
Zecure Gaming Ltd (online gaming and sports betting)
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