As reported by iGB, president and chief executive of Swedish lottery operator Svenska Spel Patrik Hofbauer has called for a ban on lottery betting and criticised lottery betting operators for threatening the financial health of public services.
Hofbauer also discussed how the lottery betting sector, referred to as “the shadow” due to its cannibalising of traditional lottery revenue, poses a risk to the financial health of sports clubs and other nonprofits in the scandinavian country.
He stated: “The shadow lottery companies take market shares from the very part of the gaming market that the 2019 Gambling Act exists to preserve.
“If [the lottery betting sector’s] development continues, funding for sports associations and charities can be adversely affected. All nonprofit businesses that receive a portion of their revenue from public lotteries are affected.”
Hofbauer’s public call for the lottery betting ban follows the release of a Svenska Spel commissioned H2 Gambling Capital report which revealed that lottery betting companies account for almost 40% of the European online lottery market’s revenue.
This percentage sees the industry facet’s contribution ranging between €1.25bn and €1.50bn, with H2 also unveiling that it has been growing at an annual rate of 10% to 20%.
Citing Denmark as a country in whose footsteps Sweden should follow due to its lottery betting ban, Hofbauer added: “The legislature must act soon. In Denmark, the risk was identified early. It does not allow betting on lotteries for gaming companies seeking a Danish betting license.
“We should introduce the same ban on betting on lotteries in Sweden. It is both right and reasonable.”
This recent call for the betting ban is not Hofbauer’s first attempt to condemn the practice, with the Svenska leader having previously raised the issue in November 2019, describing its business model and “incomprehensible” and argued that it would have already been outlawed in other industries.
