Svenska Spel: Action needed against unlicensed operators
CEO Lennart Käll speaking after flat third-quarter revenues from operator's online activities.
Svenska Spel chief executive Lennart Käll believes the Swedish monopoly operator faces a challenge to claw back market share from unlicensed operators against whom he argues action should be taken.
He was speaking after the company’s third-quarter financial results, which saw revenues from its Vegas and Casino Cosmopol brands fall year-on-year by 2.6% and 2% to SEK1.53bn (£141.4m) and SEK871m (£80.6m) respectively.
“As long as the unregulated and illegal operators can market, sell and operate in the market and the regulator does not have adequate remedies, this trend will continue,” Käll explained.
Sweden is yet to begin issuing online gambling licences, although it is expected to do so after the country holds its 2014 elections. A statement from Svenska Spel noted that unlicensed online operators continue to eat into its market share, which currently sits at 49% for online and offline combined.
Earlier this year the Swedish Audit Office (Riksrevisionen) completed its two-year investigation into the country’s egaming market and accused Svenska Spel of “Not [taking] sufficient account of the risk of gambling addiction.”
Käll was largely supportive of the report at the time, saying “I hope this report can lead to a good debate about the gaming market and what kind of society we want”.