The ‘Fakta om Spel’ (Facts about Gambling) website has been launched by four of Sweden’s largest operators, with the aim of increasing awareness of the country’s gambling market.
First announced last month and developed in cooperation with BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, the new website has the backing of Betsson, Kindred Group, LeoVegas and William Hill.
Fakta om Spel will feature facts and statistics about the regulated gambling industry, and the parties involved are hopeful it will receive the support of bettors in order to encourage ‘open and free debate about the gambling market’, in the words of Gustaf Hoffstedt, BOS Secretary General.
Different sections of the site provide a sector-by-sector breakdown of the different verticals present in the Swedish gambling space, covering sports betting, casino games, lotteries, poker and game bonuses.
Statistics detailed on the web page include the ‘Swedish gaming industry in numbers’, which outlines key figures such as the number of sales, the amount of money directed towards unregulated operators, channelisation rates and the market share of different verticals.
Additional information provides updates on the gaming industry’s media investments, turnover and gambling tax, detailing to consumers the SEK 5.2 billion contributed to public funds by gaming companies with a Swedish licence.
Discussing the launch on Twitter, Ulrik Bengtsson, William Hill CEO, commented: “With three of Sweden’s largest gambling operators, we have joined forces to increase awareness about the Swedish gambling market through the launch of the new information website, ‘Fakta om spel’ (facts about gambling).”
With three of Sweden’s largest gambling operators, we have joined forces to increase awareness about the Swedish gambling market through the launch of the new information website, ‘Fakta om spel’ (facts about gambling). https://t.co/WON3F9bkM2
— Ulrik Bengtsson
(@UlrikBengtsson) June 30, 2021
The site describes itself as a ‘collection page’ and an ‘information bank’ for details about the dynamics and development of the Swedish betting and gaming, including statistics, current research and insights.
Currently, over 100 gaming companies are fully licensed and active in Sweden, with 70 approved for betting and/or commercial online gaming, according to Fakta om Spel.
These operators recorded total sales of SEK 24.7 billion in 2020, a ‘marginal decrease’ of SEK 0.1 billion from the 2019 record, as revealed in the latest figures from the Swedish Gambling Inspectorate.
However, gambling in Sweden has come under increasing legislative scrutiny and pressure in recent years, as the government embarked on an overhaul of the country’s regulatory framework, with the market having only been established in 2019.
Overseen by MP Anna-Lena Sörenson of the governing Social Democratic Party, the ‘Gambling Market Enquiry’ made a number of recommendations for changes in the oversight of the Swedish gambling sector, including a rewrite of gambling advertising regulations.
Despite the recent dissolution of the government putting these plans on hold – as well as raising questions about future political attitudes towards the industry – both BOS and Sweden’s leading gambling operators are anxious to ‘correct misperceptions’ concerning the regulated market which may be held by the general public and legislators.
