As Sweden's First Q1 Results Hit, Legal Play and Self-Exclusion Are Up
Published May 15, 2019 by Lee R
Sweden's implementation of a liberalised market looks very effective so far.
So, how was the first quarter of the new regime in Sweden?
Robust Growth
A healthy bulge, it appears, as Swedish gaming revenue grew to SEK6.0bn for Q1.
Early Returns Solid
With Sweden's historic new liberalised regime launched January 1, 2019, Swedish Tax Authority and gaming regulator Spelinspektionen base the SEK6.0bn (£479.9m/€559.0m/$626.0m) for Q1 on the tax returns licensees’ tax returns as preliminary figures that will be updated with more incoming data.
Net Totals
When deducting winnings from player's stakes, Sweden's new regulation era began with a quarter of net revenue of SEK3.5bn when including boating play.
Monopoly Factor
The monopoly of Svenska Spel’s state lottery and land-based gaming machines monopoly generated revenue of SEK1.4bn in Q1 in lottery and land-based gaming machines they still control, with SEK234m coming from the country's land-based casino operations.
Charitable Versus Commercial
Games for charitable purposes and other national lotteries contributed Another SEK838m was generated from charitable games, with land-based commercial games including restaurant casinos taking in SEK46m.
Year-on-Year Comparison
The figures indicate that the liberalised regime is succeeding in its primary goal of rerouting domestic players to legal offerings, as Q1 2019's SEK6.0bn total for the regulated market surpassed both licensed and unlicensed offerings year-on-year.
Q1 2018 Results
Q1 2018's SEK 5.8bn received SEK4.1bn came from regulated play, and a disconcerting market SEK1.6bn coming from unlicensed offshore operators, which was the straw to break the camel's back and dissolve the vast majority of Svenska Spel's government monopoly.
Current Licensing Totals
The model is expanding vibrantly. Spelinspektionen reports it is up to 123 licences awarded to 78 companies as of May 2019.
Self-Exclusion's Promising Totals
The vital liberalised model component of self-exclusion is growing healthily too, with national self-exclusion totals up to a shade under 33,000 on national self-exclusion database. This total represents a jump of some 3,000 players from the 29,975 total players self-excluded players as of Q1 that ended in March.
Outlook
With the strong diversion to legal play and the steady rise in self-exclusion, the Swedish liberalised model is achieving the dual goals of safe play and player protection that can sustain further growth of a healthy as well as liberalised jurisdiction.
