Sweden Q1 gambling revenue falls 1% to SEK 6.61 billion
Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s Gambling Authority, has published its Q1 financial report for 2023, shedding light on the current landscape of the gambling industry in Sweden.
The data reveals that licensed casino operators have achieved a total turnover of SEK 6.61 billion (approximately $688.94 million), marking a slight decline of 1% year-over-year. This decrease underscores the challenges faced by regulated entities in a highly competitive market.
Among the various segments, online casino and betting platforms emerged as the dominant force, generating SEK 4.28 billion. This performance, while still robust, experienced a nominal downturn of 0.2%. The stability in this sector highlights a continued consumer preference for online gaming, despite fluctuations in overall turnover.
Conversely, the state’s lottery offerings and cash machine games witnessed a decline of 3%, bringing their total turnover down to SEK 1.3 billion. Particularly noteworthy is the performance of Casino Cosmopol, which reported a staggering 60% drop in revenues to SEK 26 million. Historically, this casino boasted revenues around SEK 245 million pre-COVID-19, with figures already declining to approximately SEK 145 million prior to this latest downturn.
On a positive note, gambling activities aimed at public interest purposes, such as lotteries, recorded a healthy increase of 3.5%, reaching SEK 886 million. However, traditional games designed for public benefit, such as hall bingo, remained static at SEK 49 million, while land-based gambling retained its figures at SEK 52 million.
It is important to emphasize that these figures only account for licensed operators. Notably, ATG has reported that unregulated gambling sites continue to capture a significant portion of the Swedish market, posing compliance and market integrity challenges for licensed entities.
In summary, while the Swedish gambling market exhibits resilience, it is evident that the industry must address the evolving dynamics of consumer behavior and competition from unlicensed sites to foster sustainable growth in the future.
