Interactive
Sweden – Svenska Spel applies for online casino games
By Phil - 16 February 2015
Sweden’s state-run gaming operator, Svenska Spel, his to add casino games to its mix of online games which already includes lotteries, sports betting, bingo, and poker by adding casino games to its product mix.
Svenska Spel CEO Lennart Käll highlighted a report from Sweden’s gambling regulator Lotteriinspektionen, which showed that 20 per cent of Sweden’s problem gamblers played on sites other than Svenska Spel.
He believes that offering them games on Svenska Spel’s site where ‘social protection interests are put over profit’ would be better than forcing them to play on other sites that are driven by generating profits.
Press Officer at Svenska Spel Johan Tisell said that as a regulated operator in Sweden it was strange that Svenska Spel couldn’t offer online casino games, adding that the aim was to offer casino games in a more responsible manner than is currently on the market. He added that an application was currently with the government.
Svenska Spel’s latest results were down by six per cent to $316m in 2014. Adding online casino games, which currently accounts for seven per cent of the country’s gambling market, would boost these figures.
