Unlicensed Swedish TV ad spend on the rise
Advertising investment by foreign operators surges 108% to SEK1bn in just two years
TV advertising spend by unlicensed operators has more than doubled over the past two years accounting for 64% of all gambling-related ad revenue, according to figures published by the Swedish Gambling Authority (Lotteriinspektionen).
The latest figures, compiled by Swedish market research company TNS Sifo, show that total spend by foreign operators topped over SEK1bn last year, a significant 108% increase compared to SEK521m (£47.5m) in 2011.
In comparison TV advertising investment by licensed operators only increased 44% to SEK617m during the same period. Total advertising spend by licensed and unlicensed gambling operators stood at SEK1.7bn in 2013.
According to Joakim Rönngren, Lotteriinspektionen’s head of communications, the increased spend could attributed to operators’ misunderstanding of the Swedish Lottery Act, which prohibits the advertising of unlicensed gambling activities.
“A motive for the increased spend could be the period leading up to the outcome of the High Court case in December 2012 as the unregulated operators seem to be of the misinterpretation that the Swedish Lottery Act is superseded,” said Rönngren.
“The Swedish Gambling Authority will remain steadfast on the issue of correcting any breach of the Swedish Lottery Act,” he added.
The latest research follows a consultation launched by the Swedish government to assess whether national legislation can be changed to prevent or forbid advertising by foreign gambling operators.
Growth in offshore advertising recently led to a heated media exchange between Svenska Spel and the Swedish Newspaper Publishers’ Association Tidningsutgivarna (TU) concerning foreign gambling advertisements in newspapers specifically.