Swedish Gambling Authority confirms channelisation below target; BOS urges action
Significant variations exist across gambling verticals, with sports betting achieving 92-96% channelisation rates, while online casino achieved considerably lower rates at 72-82%.
Key points:
– Sweden’s 2024 channelisation rate is estimated at 85%, below the 90% policy target
– Betting achieves high channelisation at 92-96%, while online casino lags at 72-82%
– BOS calls for reforms to make the licensed market more attractive, including reconsidering bonus restrictions
The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has published its annual channelisation assessment for 2024, estimating that 85% of gambling activity in Sweden took place with licensed operators.
The figure represents a one percentage point decline from 2023 and remains below the Government’s long-term target of 90%.
Channelisation – the proportion of gambling carried out within the licensed market – is seen as a key measure of regulatory effectiveness.
While betting, including horse racing, recorded strong rates of 92–96%, online casino continues to underperform, with channelisation estimated between 72–82%.
The Authority noted several reasons for consumers turning to unlicensed operators, including access to a wider range of games, more generous bonuses and exclusion from licensed platforms via the Spelpaus self-exclusion system.
Good to know: This year’s assessment marked a methodological change, as consultancy H2 Gambling Capital was excluded from the calculation after lowering its Swedish channelisation estimate from 91% to 72%
Commenting on the findings, BOS’s Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt stated: “With this assessment, the SGA confirms that Sweden’s major problem in the gambling market is online casino.
“It is unacceptable that around a quarter of all online casino gambling is leaking out of the licensed market. It is equally unacceptable that this has been accepted by political decision-makers for half a decade, since the channelisation has also been low in previous assessments, without effective regulatory measures being taken.
“Later this month, gambling investigator Marcus Isgren’s proposal to change the scope of the Gambling Act will be presented. It is a welcome change in the law that will criminalise almost all unlicensed gambling in Sweden. But the elephant in the room is that the licensed market is so tightly regulated that it does not appear attractive enough in the eyes of the consumer.
“Without a review of, for example, the total ban on bonuses and other loyalty programs, next year’s channelisation assessment from the SGA will also be a disappointment.”
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