With an open market on the horizon, the restricted Swedish gambling market is growing at one third the pace of international operators for H1 2016.
The Totals
In a national report, Swedish gaming agency Lotteriinspektionen revealed that the online Swedish gambling market improved nonetheless, moving up 5% to a total of nearly SEK 10.8b (US $1.26b) for the first six months of the year.
The Pace
With H1 sales of SEK 8.2b, Sweden’s state-licensed operators grew at a pace of 4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, international online operators grew 12% to SEK 2.3b, for a remarkable turnaround from the end of Q1, when Swedish operator growth was outpacing international operators 6% to 5%.
Svenska H1 Figures
Government-owned operator Svenska Spel reported total H1 sales of just under SEK 4.4b for 1% growth, a modest pace anchored by a 2% drop in land-based sales to SEK 3.47b, further contrasting with the online jump of 13% to SEK 922m. At this point, Svenska Spel’s overall share of the Swedish market stands at 41%, still almost double the total of 21% for international operators.
Pattern of Decline
A similar pattern of land-based declines versus online growth was mirrored in the H1 Performance of the ATG horseracing monopoly, which saw online sales rise 11% to SEK 990m against a 3% fall in land-based bets to SEK 941m. This pattern was reflected by the People Games and IOGT-NTO lottery sectors as well.
Land-based Lottery’s Stand
Interestingly, land-based lottery did perform well with The Postcode Lottery, gaining 12% online to SEK 1.2b while online sales fell 41% to just SEK 19m.
Open Horizon
Plans are underway to ultimately privatize Svenska Spel, with government officials promising a final draft of relevant legislation by the end of 2017.
Terms
These plans are complete with an already announced payment- and IP-blocking system planned against unlicensed operators, so the infrastructure for opening the Swedish market is in place. Now all that is left is the vote.