Svenska Spel streamlines staff due to coronavirus lockdown

Svenska Spel has implemented cost-saving measures to combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as the gambling industry continues to deal with global lockdown conditions.

The Swedish state-owned firm has furloughed more than 800 members of its 900-person staff across its land-based operations as a result of the pandemic.

Svenska Spel Sport and Casino, Svenska Spel’s online sports betting and casino arm, has seen 45 out of its 135 employees furloughed after sporting events worldwide were cancelled due to Covid-19.

The biggest cutbacks have been implemented across the land-based Casino Cosmopol and Casino Restaurant sites after the Swedish government banned meetings of more than 50 people on 29 March.

Svenska Spel also detailed that due to the difficulty in predicting the long-term effects of the coronavirus, the board of directors has taken the decision to withdraw its proposal for a dividend worth SEK850m (£68.9m)

Patrik Hofbauer, Svenska Spel president and CEO, noted that the implemented measures were needed to ensure Svenska Spel remained a “sustainable business”.

Hofbauer said: “We are implementing the measures to adapt the business to the current situation, and we do so with the utmost care of our employees. Our hope is to be able to quickly switch to full operations and staffing when the situation turns.

“We do not know how it [Covid-19] will develop in the future, or how long it will last, and therefore it is necessary that we take steps to ensure a sustainable business,” he added.