Sweden has seen its gambling market growth rate decrease, according to statistics released by the Swedish Gambling Authority.

The market grew by just 1.5% year-on-year, as reported gross gaming revenue after payment of winnings reached SEK11.2bn ($1.27bn) in the first two quarters of 2018.

More worryingly for the Swedish gambling market is that operators with a Swedish gaming permit actually recorded a 1.9% decline in gross gaming revenue, which stands at SEK8.2bn for the year.

Gross gaming revenue for operators without a Swedish permit grew by an impressive 12.5% to SEK3bn.

Increases were recorded in Sweden’s online sector that grew by 13.8%, but they were countered by an 8.6% decrease in land-based revenues.

Svenska Spel, Sweden’s largest operator, reported gross gaming revenue of SEK4.3bn, a 1.3% decline caused by land-based gambling falling by 8.8%, and despite online gambling increasing by 22.6%.