Kindred Group: Svenska Spel structure will damage Sweden’s re-regulated market
Operator says the government’s failure to deal professionally with Svenska Spel could “seriously endanger the outcome of the reform”
Kindred Group has challenged Sweden’s state-owned monopoly Svenska Spel to reform its business structure to ensure a level playing field for operators ahead of market liberalisation.
The government’s official bill detailing reforms to the country’s gambling market went through parliament on 9 April as a host of foreign operators are expected to apply for new licences by the August deadline.
The recently submitted legislation suggested Sweden’s new gambling market will be split into three sections – open, for newly-licensed competing operators, public, to include charitable lottery organisations and state, for land-based casinos and gambling machines.
But Stockholm-headquartered Kindred Group has urged Svenska Spel to divide its business between the three categories to avoid a significant conflict of interest, as Sweden’s Ministry of Enterprise, which owns Svenska Spel, would be responsible for introducing new gambling legislation.
Kindred’s Peter Alling
Kindred’s Nordic head of public affairs, Peter Alling, said: “The government’s proposition to parliament is just one part of the reform.
“The reform intends to keep the market divided in one part open to competition and one part exclusive to NGOs and governmental operator Svenska Spel.
“Since the current entity Svenska Spel is to act on both the exclusive and the competitive market, it is from a competition law point of view extremely important that Svenska Spel is split into two independent entities.
“The Ministry of Enterprise and the Ministry of Finance has so far acted in opposite directions but the government still has a responsibility it can’t avoid.
“Failure to deal professionally with the split and not adhering to basic competition regulation will seriously endanger the outcome of the reform.
“The proposal to parliament reveals the government has no intention to take necessary actions to ensure a fair and competitive market.
“Instead it wants to protect the dominant position of the state owned operator Svenska Spel,” he added.
The Swedish government has said it has no plans to privatise any part of Svenska Spel despite Kindred’s concerns, which are likely to be shared by other prospective operators.