Sweden’s gaming market driven by online in Q1

en's gambling market saw a turnover of 5.4bn Swedish Krona (SEK) ($622.5bn) during the first quarter of 2017, with a 0.2% annual increase driven principally by online gaming.

Lotteriinspektionen, Sweden’s gaming regulator, reported that international online operators saw sales rise by 13% to SEK1.25bn in Q1, whilst Swedish-licensed operators suffered a dip of 3% to SEK4.2bn.

Svenska Spel, the state-owned monopoly operator, reported sales falling 5% to SEK 2.16bn; with land-based games dropping by 9% and online gaming improving by 6%.

ATG announced flat revenue of SEK 954m for Q1 2017. Its land-based games decreased by 11% but internet games increased by 10%.

In the lottery market, Svenska Postkodföreningen’s revenue rose by 3% to SEK 623m, whilst Folkspel, with Bingolotto and Sverigelotten, decreased by 10% year-on-year with sales of SEK 140m.

Sweden is currently in the process of reforming its gambling market to enable international online operators to apply for local licenses. The government would then be able to generate income from these operators with an 18% tax.