Svenska Spel eyeing casino launch after profits fall
Swedish monopoly applies for online casino licence after 6% drop in profits for the group during H1
Svenska Spel has confirmed it is seeking to launch an online casino after the Swedish monopoly recorded a 6% slump in H1 profits in a period where online revenues rose by 5%.
The firm’s operating profit for the period fell to SEK2.3bn (£197.5m), while its online business saw net gaming revenue rise 5% to SEK663.9m or 17% of total group revenue.
Svenska Spel CEO Lennart Käll confirmed the casino licence application had been made late last month and said it was now up to the Swedish government to decide whether the operator would be allowed to launch.
“Online casino games have taken approximately 7% of the gaming market in Sweden and the play is today only [available] from unregulated gambling companies that are outside the Swedish authorities’ licensing and control,” he said.
Käll said that allowing Svenska Spel to launch an online casino would clamp down on unregulated operators and help to prevent incidents of problem gambling, which he estimated to occur to about 20% of those playing on unlicensed sites.
“This demand could be channelled to an operator where social protection interests are put over profit,” Käll added.
Svenska Spel introduced a mandatory betting card for customers wishing to bet with the operator last November, and the system was put into place in June this year.
The same month saw the launch of a new mobile sportsbook timed to coincide with this summer’s FIFA World Cup, and Käll said the product had been well received by its customers to date.
Sports betting contributed about 18% of Svenska Spel’s total revenues for the period, marginally up on the 17% figure it recorded last year.