Swedish market growth slows to 1.5% in Q2

Swedish gambling market growth slowed during the second quarter of 2018, with gross gaming revenue (GGR) only increasing by 1.5% year-on-year to SEK11.2bn (£973m).

Operators with licenses to operate in the Swedish market reported GGR of SEK8.2bn (£712m) during the quarter, a fall of 1.9% when compared to the same period of 2017. However unlicensed operators garnered SEK3.0bn (£260m) in GGR over the quarter, a rise of 12.5% year-on-year.

One of the stated aims of the current Swedish reregulation exercise is to decrease the market share of unlicensed operators by demonopolizing the market. Unlicensed operators accounted for 27% of the Swedish market during the second quarter of 2018.

Of the two monopoly operators, Svenska Spel reported gross gaming revenue of SEK 4.3bn (£373m), down 1.3% year-on-year during the period. Revenues from its land-based gambling operations fell by 8.8%, while revenues accrued from its  egaming operations increased by 22.6% year-on-year when compared to the same period of 2017.

AB Trav and Galopp (ATG) reported GGR of SEK2.0bn (£173m), up 1.8% during the quarter. Revenues from its land-based operations fell by 8.8%, with egaming revenues jumping by 9.8% during the same period.

The overall egaming share of the Swedish market increased by 13.8%, while the market share of land-based gambling decreased by 8.6% during the quarter.