Sweden Gambling Revenue Goes Up in H1 2017

The gaming market in Sweden continues to improve as H1 results are revealed.

Swedish gambling authority Lotteriinspektionen revealed the semi-annual results, which show the rise in the country’s gambling revenue.

According to the latest figures, gambling revenue in Sweden recorded a year-on-year increase of 3%. Translated into hard currency, this means the whole Swedish market grossed €1.16 billion during the first six months of 2017

Svenska Spel, the state-owned operator remains the market leader, despite the H1 year-on-year decline in turnover of 2%. Still, the company can be satisfied with its online vertical due to a 12% increase in revenue.

The entire online gambling market recorded a substantial rise in revenue – 17% up when compared to the same period of 2016. New licensed operators were credited as the biggest force behind this achievement.

Market Slowly Opening Up

After the monopoly of Svenska Spel ended, the Swedish market is slowly but surely opening up.

The figures released by the new Mediavision survey show that more than 60% of all new accounts were registered to foreign-based operators.

The leading foreign operator is Bet365 with 9% of all new accounts, closely followed by Unibet at 8%, while the third-placed LeoVegas has a share of 7%.

New Law to Round-up the Process

The Swedish government is currently working on a new gambling law, which will allow foreign online casino operators to apply for a Swedish license. According to the available information, the new legislation should come into force by 2019.

Foreign operators continue to increase their presence in the Swedish market. Mediavision revealed that 10% of all ads on TV channels in Sweden originate from foreign gambling providers. That’s a rise of more than 200% in share since 2013.

It is more than obvious that foreign operators want to establish stronger positions in the Swedish market, and they’re spending a substantial amount of money to make their presence feel.

The upcoming legislative reform will mark another step in the process of opening the market to all interested parties. More operators mean more taxation, more volume operations and in the end – more revenue.