Swedish gambling licence holders recorded total second quarter sales of SEK 5.9bn (2019: SEK 6.17bn), representing a 4.1 per cent decrease year-on-year.
Released by the country’s regulator, Spelinspektionen, it is noted that the figures are preliminary and largely based on data from The Swedish Tax Agency.
Online casino and betting took that lion’s share of the overall figure, noting a 3.62 per cent increase to SEK 3.61bn (2019: SEK 3.48bn) trailed by state lottery and slot machines which dropped 8.48 per cent to SEK 1.29bn (2019: SEK 1.41bn).
At the end of the second quarter, it was reported that a little over 52,000 individuals were suspended for games via Spelpaus.se, the regul
ator’s national self exclusion register.
This figure represented an increase of just under four per cent compared with the previous quarter. However, it is further noted that by the beginning of September 2020 the number had increased to just over 55,000.
In total, 99 companies had active licenses on the Swedish market in August 2020, excluding licenses for non-profit purposes, with 72 of those given to go-ahead for betting and/or commercial online gaming.
Furthermore, despite acknowledging that “there is no actual information on how much is played at gaming companies without a Swedish license,” the Spelinspektionen did include estimates calculated by H2 Gambling Capital.
The research firm reports that during the second quarter of 2020, an approximate total of between SEK 620m – 732m was played at companies outside the Swedish licensing system.