Swedish Gambling Monopoly Under Fire

In order to monitor and supervise online gambling in Sweden, and to maintain responsible gambling standards, the government has decided to form its own casino, which will supply the citizens with all of their gambling needs.

Finance meets poker
The Svenska Spel was formed in 2005, but is now under pressure as the Swedish finance minister Andres Borg set his eyes on it. The minister, who was elected for office in 2006, demands tighter regulations for online poker games run by Svenska Spel. By doing so, their hopes of becoming a major player in the global online poker marker - are all but gone.

One can assume this to be the result of the survey conducted by the National Institute of Public Health in Sweden. The survey proved Svenska Spel to be quite successful, but more importantly, pointed at the fact that online gamblers tend to spend more when playing online poker, in comparison to other games on the casino.

No wonder that Borg is demanding Svenska Spel to clearly and regularly inform players of their total winning and losses, as a way to prevent them from spending more than planned.

Cruel Summer in Sweden
This completes a difficult period for Svenska Spel, as they have recently learnt that by monopolizing the Swedish market, they are actually breaking the European Community rules, which call for free trade across the EU.

The solution for this situation is privatization of less addicting form of gambling, such as the lottery and sports betting. By doing so, the company will be allowed to continue operating, though with lower profits.