SvenskSvenska Spel reports a decrease in problem gambling in 2023
Sweden’s state-owned gambling operator, Svenska Spel, recently published its annual report for 2022. The past year has been challenging for the operator that once held the monopoly of iGaming services in the country. However, after the imposition of strict measures to combat problem gambling, the operator has curbed revenue generated from problem gambling. Throughout 2022, problem gambling revenue remained low, and in March, Svenska Spel revealed that the numbers are decreasing as the operator recorded a slight year-on-year decrease in the revenue generated from problem gambling.
Svenska Spel has reported a decrease in problem gambling in 2023.
?Jon Flobrant/Unsplash
Svenska Spel is the most famous name in the regulated gambling markets of Sweden. From its establishment in 1997 till the Swedish government introduced a new set of gambling laws in 2019, the Visby-based operator was the sole provider of online gambling services in the country. New laws ended the operator’s monopoly as several private operators approached the Swedish gambling authority, Spelinspektionen, to attain gambling licenses and enter the regulated market of Sweden. However, Svenska Spel remains one of the top gambling operators in the country despite losing its monopoly and being active in a competitive market with several other licensed gambling operators. The operator has a vast network across Sweden with almost 7000 sales agents and over 2000 bingo halls, restaurants, and pubs through which it offers land-based services. In addition, the operator is also active online, with most of its users gambling via mobile phones.
The operator recently published its annual report for the past year and reported a Net Gaming Revenue (NGR) of SEK 8,036 million. This marked a 1.3 percent decrease compared to the NGR of 2021, which was SEK 8,144 million. The operating profit also marked a decrease of 3 percent after it came down from SEK 2,468 million in 2021 to SEK 2,387 million last year. Surprisingly, the sports betting segment failed to perform well and notched revenue, which was lower than that of 2021 and 2020 as well. The FIFA World Cup took place towards the end of 2022, which was expected to boost revenue. However, Sweden’s failure to qualify for the competition and the tricky schedule of matches may have discouraged gamblers. In 2021, sports betting roped in SEK 447 million from sports betting, but in 2022, the revenue dropped to SEK 345 million. This figure was lower than the Covid-pandemic-inflicted year of 2020, during which sports betting reeled in revenue of SEK 402 million.
The annual revenue generated by casino games dropped to SEK 627 million at the end of 2022. This was 5.6 percent lower than the annual revenue of the same segment in 2021, which was SEK 664 million. Similar to sports betting, the lottery segment was also down and collected revenue that was lower than the respective revenues of 2021 and 2020. Svenska Spel generated SEK 1,602 million and SEK 1,609 million in 2020 and 2021, respectively, via lotteries. However, in 2022, the operator only pulled in SEK 1,490 million from the same segment last year. The only gambling activity that remained on a steady upward trajectory was the number game or bingo. The segment made up 42.4 percent of the total NGR after roping in SEK 3,406 million, almost 3 percent higher than the final figures of 2021 and 5 percent greater than the total segment revenue of 2020. The operator justified its annual performance by stating the effects of the war in Ukraine. Some of the significant repercussions of the happening include the weakening of the global economy and high inflation.
Strict measures in place to fight problem gambling
A few days before publishing last year’s annual report, Svenska Spel’s head of sustainability, Kajsa Nylander, revealed that problem gambling activity continues to be low despite the recession and ongoing economic turmoil. In addition, the operator recorded the problem gambling activity during the first two months of this year and marked a slight decrease compared to the statistics recorded in the corresponding month last year. The analysis also revealed that players with problem gambling traits spent lesser money this time around, especially in online casinos.
Over the past few years, Svenska Spel has derived measures to control and combat problem gambling. This includes the operator’s implementation of the Gamgard tool to design games. Developed by about 20 international researchers, Gamgard gauges any iGaming product’s risk level and detects which elements are increasing the risk. With such a tool at its disposal, Svenska Spel offers games with a higher risk with additional consumer protection and preventive gambling monitoring tools. The operator refrains from offering bonuses on such high-risk games. Illegal operators use the bonus offers to lure vulnerable players.
Svenska Spel brought gambling limits into the picture at the end of 2021. This kept players with problem gambling traits from depositing a huge sum into their respective gambling accounts. The deposit limits were lower for players who were young. As a result, problem gambling in the 18 and 19-year-old categories has decreased by a third since 2021. The self-exclusion register, Spelpaus, is also active on the operator’s platform. Players can register themselves and take a minimum break of three months and a maximum of three years, depending on the severity of their gambling problems.
Spellkoll is a gaming control tool that the Swedish operator has deployed to show players the signs of problem gambling. The tool also helps in identifying problem gambling traits. The operator provides a web-based self-test to further analyze gambling behavior. Last year, more than 82,000 self-tests were conducted. Svenska Spel has also made over 19,000 game monitoring and care calls during the same period and has blocked access to gambling for players who have shown multiple problem gambling traits. The Stodlinjen is the operator’s support line for problem gambling-related issues.
Incognito checks by the Swedish gambling authority
The Spelinspektionen is one of the many gambling regulators worldwide fighting to ensure player safety by keeping several harmful elements at bay. Every gambling regulator seeks compliance from the operators who have received their gambling licenses in that particular jurisdiction. Svenska Spel is one of the oldest gambling operators in the country and has always followed the directives set forth by the Spelinspektionen.
Illegal gambling, money laundering, match-fixing, and more illicit activities frequently occur if the gambling regulator is not vigilant enough. The gambling authority must remain sharp and keep an eye out for illegal operators as well as licensed ones to ensure compliance. Towards the end of last year, the Swedish government encouraged the Spelinspektionen to conduct incognito tests to study licensed operators.
The proposal included three other points in which the government wanted payment providers to provide transaction information of players and operators in order to block payments to unlicensed operators. The government also wanted gambling operators to process their data to aid the fight against match-fixing. Lastly, the government wanted to grant the Swedish Police Authority access to the gambling data of criminals.
