Sweden’s lottery sector showed its resilience in Q2 of this year, during a three-month time period which saw revenue across betting and gaming segments decline year-on-year.
The country’s National Lotteries and other ‘games for public purpose’ saw revenue rise 3% from SEK 870m to SEK 896m, although the lottery and Vegas Slots division of state-owned operator Svenska Spel saw its revenue fall slightly from SEK 1.4bn to SEK 1.39bn.
Total Swedish industry revenue was down around 1% from SEK 6.77bn (€568m) SEK 6.7bn (€562m). On the other hand, this marked an improvement of just under 2% on Q1 2023 revenue of SEK 6.6bn (€554m)
This left year-to-date revenue also down by around 0.5% from SEK 13.3m (€1.118m) to SEK 13.2m (€1.108m). Apart from lotteries, most sectors suffered during the quarter, with online betting and gaming revenue down 1.5% from SEK 4.23bn (€355m) to SEK 4.18bn (€351m).
On the gaming side of business, restaurant casinos closed the period with revenue down from SEK 58m (€5m) to SEK 51m (€4.3m). However, community games, which includes bingo, remained consistent with SEK 48m (€4m).
At the end of the second quarter, approximately 95,000 people were banned from gambling via the Spelpaus self-exclusion scheme, which represents an increase of 1.4%compared to the previous quarter.
A significant development for Spelinspektionen during the quarter was the introduction of a new B2B licensing framework under proposals approved by the Riksdag parliament, as well as granting the regulator greater powers.
Additionally, the regulator’s leadership was consolidated during the time period when the tenure of Camilla Rosenberg as Director General of Gambling Inspectorate was extended until 31 October 2026.
