Lottoland slams Svenska Spel over false lottery betting revenue claim
Chief executive Nigel Birrell rebuffs “tiresome and unfounded attack” from Swedish monopoly operator
Lottoland CEO Nigel Birrell has taken aim at Svenska Spel following claims made by the Swedish operator over European market share of lottery betting firms.
In an editorial published on 8 June, Svenska Spel CEO Patrick Hofbauer labelled lottery betting a “shadow game” and claimed it diverted money away from good causes, calling on the Swedish government to block the vertical.
In support of this assertion, the operator cited a report from H2 Gambling Capital, which it claimed showed lottery betting firms accounted for almost 40% of the European online lottery market, generating GGR of between €1.25bn-€1.5bn in 2019.
However, questions were raised regarding this analysis, with Svenska Spel reportedly unable to provide the precise figure referenced in the H2 Gambling Capital report.
Svenska Spel has since revised this estimate to a lower figure of 35% of the global market rather than the European market.
Lottoland CEO Birrell criticised the monopoly operator over the nature of the statements made in the webinar.
“Yet another tiresome and unfounded attack from a state monopoly,” said Birrell. “We strongly disagree with what he said and the figures that were stated are purely fictional and delivered with the intent of creating distractions and noise,” he added.
Comparing the two firms, Birrell cited Svenska Spel’s lottery revenue of SEK1.15bn (£97.9m) for Q1, a figure which dwarves Lottoland’s Swedish Q1 revenue of SEK9.5m (£812,000).
“Clearly, we are having no impact on their business, including their online sales, and in turn having no negative impact on contributions to good causes. In fact, we believe we are helping to grow the market for Svenska Spel by increasing the awareness of lottery,” Birrell said.
Birrell referenced similar claims made by the Irish national lottery operator, which were later established as unproven by two reports commissioned by the European Lottery Betting Association.
“We feel that this is just another unsubstantiated attack by a state lottery on licensed lottery betting operators. Time and time again, we are blamed for a drop in returns to good causes rather than evidence-based facts,” Birrell said.
“We will not stand by and be used as a scapegoat for state national lotteries and their failings. We hold a licence in Sweden, follow and comply with regulation and believe in an open and competitive marketplace,” he concluded.
EGR has contacted Svenska Spel for comment.