Unlicensed market grows as Sweden plots re-regulation
Regulated revenues stagnant as punters migrate to unlicensed operators
Sweden’s unlicensed online market continues to grow according to new figures from the regulator Lotteriinspektionen as plans to open up the country begin to gather pace.
The Lotteriinspektionen reported that during H1 the unlicensed online market increased 5% to around SEK2bn (£157m) as punters abandoned land-based operations in favour of online.
The majority of the various gaming monopolies, led by Svenska Spel, reported declines in land-based revenues and increases in their online return, while there was a decline in marketing spend from both regulated and unregulated operators, with total spend down 9% to SEK1.5bn (£118m).
Sweden’s total regulated market, including land-based revenues, reported only a marginal 0.3% increase to SEK7.9bn (£619m).
Yesterday’s figures will increase pressure on the government to accelerate its planned re-regulation which will open up Sweden to foreign operators, with the current monopoly system seemingly doing little to persuade punters not to use unlicensed sites.
“The figures are what we can expect,” Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general of the Association of Online Gambling Operators in Sweden, told eGaming Review.
“Consumers move from land-based gambling to online, regardless of whether the operator is regulated in Sweden or not. In fact, I don’t think the average Swedish consumer can tell the difference; he or she probably believes that Betfair and Unibet are just as regulated in Sweden as the state operator Svenska Spel,” Hoffstedt added.
A spokesperson for the Lotteriinspektionen said it was monitoring the development of the unlicensed market and reporting progress to stakeholders, but that any conclusions must be drawn by lawmakers.