Swedish Market Sees a Drop in Number of Players in First Year of Regulation

The first year of regulated Swedish markets sees a decline in the number of players.

The first year of regulation in the Swedish market is almost over, and we could end up with interesting results once the performance is summarized.

According to a recent survey, the number of Swedes gambling has recorded a decrease of 6% during the last year.

Interesting Data

The poll, conducted by Novus on behalf of the country’s gambling watchdog Spelinspektionen, showed that nearly two-thirds (or 60%, to be precise) of adult Swedes gambled over the last year, which represent a 6% drop when compared to 2018.

The drop is even bigger when compared to 2013, when the first survey was conducted, which showed that 76% of the country’s adults gambled. It should be pointed out that back then Svenska Spel had a monopoly over the market

A total of 1,600 Swedes took part in the poll, conducted in October. Of that number, 45% stated they had gambled in the last month, while 31% had done the same over the same week. 21% of surveyed said they gambled more than 12 months ago, 17% stated they had never taken part in any gambling activity whatsoever, and 2% couldn’t tell whether they had ever gambled.

Lottery Stays the Most Popular Activity

The lottery is still the most popular gambling activity among the Swedes, with 75% of players stating they had played it during 2019. Numerical and draw-based games are behind with 50%, while horse race betting came in third at 38%.

Sports betting wasn’t as popular, with only 21% of the participants saying they had wagered on sports in the last twelve months. Casino and poker were far behind, with the former being at a mere 5%.

Retail has remained the dominant medium, accounting for 48% of the Swedish market, followed by mobile devices and PCs with 29% and 19% respectively.

Based on the data collected from mobile and P, the state-owned Svenska Spel still rules the market, as 63% of players gambled with them. AB Trav och Galopp is far behind, with 17%.

The survey showed that 78% of all Swedish players gamble only on licensed websites. 4% still regularly visit unlicensed sites, while 18% of players can’t say with certainty whether they play on licensed gambling sites.