Connect with us
European Gaming Congress 2024

Latest News

A new report from the casino guide Casino.se: How the new gaming law has affected the Swedish gaming industry

Published

on

Reading Time: 3 minutes

 

A new report from the casino guide Casino.se highlights how the Swedish gaming industry has been affected since January 2019, when the government introduced a licensing market for gambling. The report reveals, among other things, that about 50,000 Swedes have used the self-shutdown service spelpaus.se, as well as a dramatic reduction in visitor traffic to the Swedish licensed companies. In addition, criticism is directed at the government’s recent legislative proposals with additional gaming regulations, which, according to the report, risk driving players to unregulated international gambling sites.

Casino.se, Sweden’s leading casino guide, today presents a new report on how the new gambling law from January 2019 has affected the Swedish gaming market and its players. The report, prepared by Casino.se together with the owner company XLMedia, highlights, among other things, changes in consumers’ gaming patterns, government revenues and expenses, as well as the growth of the private industry players, which are today part of Sweden’s regulated gaming market. The report also analyzes the future of the industry, as well as the risks associated with the government’s recent legislative proposals on lower maximum limits for deposits and bonuses, with the primary aim of countering gambling abuse during the corona crisis.

The new gambling law

Advertisement
Stake.com

The new Gaming Act from January 1, 2019, meant that Sweden was granted a licensing market for gambling, with the aim of excluding all the actors that are non-licensed and don’t pay tax in Sweden. According to Spelinspektionen, 98 companies today have active gaming licenses, where of as many as 71 are online. Among other things, the law requires that the companies on their site, clearly offer players three main opportunities to limit their gambling, in the form of the measures spelpaus.se, game limits and self-testing. The companies that do not comply with the rules risk, among other things, having their license revoked for up to two years.

Of the three measures mentioned above, spelpaus.se, which enables self-suspension from virtually all gambling in Sweden, has meant the most important change. In March 2020, according to the Gaming Inspection, nearly 50,000 Swedes had registered on spelpaus.se, of which 76 percent were men and 24 percent were women.

The economic development of the gaming industry

During the third quarter of 2019, the new gaming law had a noticeably negative effect on the Swedish gaming market as a whole. The total return for online gaming operators with Swedish licenses was SEK 3.35 billion, according to statistics from the Gaming Inspectorate, which was a decrease of SEK 120 million compared to the second quarter and SEK 70 million compared to the first quarter of the same year. 2019 was a relatively weak year for the gaming industry, with a total turnover of SEK 24.79 billion, which was only a modest increase from the previous year.

Reduced visitor traffic

Advertisement
Stake.com

New statistics from Casino.se and Google Trends reveal that several of the Swedish licensed gaming companies had significantly less visitor traffic to their sites in 2019 than in previous years. All in all, however, the Swedish licensed companies have so far been mostly satisfied with the development since the new law came into force.

“By having a regulated market, long-term sustainability and industry profits are secured. It benefits both consumers and operators,” says Stuart Simms, CEO of XLMedia, which runs Casino.se.

New bill risks driving players towards the unregulated gaming market

However, a cloud of concern has flared up now in May. It concerns the government’s new bill to introduce a maximum deposit limit of SEK 5,000 a week and a bonus ceiling of SEK 100 to limit gambling, especially during the corona crisis when many are sitting at home. The proposal has generated a massive protest storm from leading industry players, which has been noted in both international and Swedish press. One of the detractors is Gustaf Hoffstedt, Secretary General of the Industry Association for Online Games (BOS), who believes that these new regulations would counteract its purpose and harm the Swedish gaming industry.

“I react with surprise and consternation. All of these regulations, which may have honest ambitions to strengthen consumer protection, drive players away from the licensed market, ”Hoffstedt said in the report.

Advertisement
Stake.com

To read the full report, please click here.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Latest News

Ixia launches $20 million global gaming venture Fund and Studio

Published

on

ixia-launches-$20-million-global-gaming-venture-fund-and-studio
Reading Time: < 1 minute

 

Ixia Capital, a venture capital fund and studio, has launched with an investment of $20 million focused on high-growth companies across gaming, esports, digital assets, and complementary technologies.

The fund has been founded by partners with deep firsthand iGaming industry experience, enabling entrepreneurs to realise innovative ideas, technologies, and transform business models into profitable companies.

Ixia Capital is a global fund with a focus in India, Africa and UAE where the mission is to accelerate development and manage risks to help ventures succeed in specialised fields. The fund is based in the Cayman Islands, while the Ixia Studio is headquartered in the USA.

Advertisement
Stake.com

Ixia Capital CEO and Venture Partner Mona Motwani, said: “It’s a proud moment for us to officially launch Ixia Capital. Our mission is partnering with driven entrepreneurs to equip them with resources, expertise, exposure and capital that allow them to build the best ideas into great companies. Through this hands-on approach, Ixia is all about accelerating ideas and mitigating risks.”

Ixia Studio, the venture studio arm of Ixia Capital, is in the process of launching six disruptive projects – FasFas Games, a Sports NFT Trading Exchange, a Gaming Loyalty Reward Platform, Sports Investment Thought Leadership Platform, and a Sports Coverage and Games Engagement App. The role of the Studio is to provide funding, resources, and operational support to help entrepreneurs build and scale companies.

The post Ixia launches $20 million global gaming venture Fund and Studio appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

Latest News

SPOTLIGHT SPORTS GROUP AGREES NEW DEAL WITH HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB

Published

on

spotlight-sports-group-agrees-new-deal-with-hong-kong-jockey-club
Reading Time: < 1 minute

 

Spotlight Sports Group (SSG), a world-leading technology, content, and media company specialising in sports betting, has signed a deal to extend a multi-year agreement with the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

The long-term partnership, powered by the Racing Post, will promote Hong Kong racing to a worldwide audience through the provision of full racecards for the Hong Kong Jockey Club meetings at Sha Tin and Happy Valley, editorial and tipping content. The partnership will also enable free-to-view live streams and replays of all Hong Kong racing via Racing Post digital platforms.

The collaboration also sees the promotion of the HKJC’s World Pool initiative, specifically with editorial, tipping and signposting of World Pool meetings. Spotlight Sports Group is delighted to have this agreement in place before Royal Ascot, a meeting that not only features high-class horse racing, but five days of World Pool betting.

Advertisement
Stake.com

James Fitzpatrick, Account Director for B2B Content Services at Spotlight Sports Group, said: “The Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of our key partners and I’m delighted we will be continuing our relationship. Extending this deal ahead of Royal Ascot will allow us to continue to promote World Pool days to a global audience during one of the biggest international meetings of the year.”

The view was shared by Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products of the HKJC: “The HKJC and Racing Post are two of the most powerful and respected brands in the horse racing industry and we can see many great opportunities to work together to achieve our goals and longer-term vision throughout the life of the agreement.”

 Spotlight Sports Group aims to support the global betting, horse racing and fantasy sports industries.

The post SPOTLIGHT SPORTS GROUP AGREES NEW DEAL WITH HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Advertisement
Stake.com
Continue Reading

Balkan's

EGT’s Gods & Kings Link with first installation in Bulgaria

Published

on

egt’s-gods-&-kings-link-with-first-installation-in-bulgaria
Reading Time: 2 minutes

 

EGT’s jackpot Gods & Kings Link made its debut in Bulgaria. The first local gaming establishment to install the product is the largest casino in the country GoldenEye, located in Svilengrad.

“We are very happy to once again have the opportunity to support our partners from GoldenEye by providing them with one of the latest developments from our slot portfolio,” commented Biserka Draganova, Sales Manager for the Balkans and Egypt at EGT. “The fact that out of a total of 500 machines in the casino, 320 are EGT’s is a testament to the great confidence they have in us, and I believe that Gods & Kings Link will show the excellent results expected from it.”

The product is currently available on several cabinets of the G 50 J2 St model, and will be installed on more by the end of June. Gods & Kings Link has 4 levels of jackpot: Minor and Mini, that are fixed for each machine and Grand and Major, which are progressive and can be won with every bet made on any of the 4 games Rise of Ra, Olympus Glory, Ape of luck and Glorious Alexander. The Grand and Major levels are common with EGT’s bestseller jackpot Bell Link, thus creating even greater chances for wealth.

Advertisement
Stake.com

Gods & Kings Link has definitely caught the attention of our customers and in the short period of time we’ve been offering it, we’ve seen a lot of interest in it,” said Mert Caliskan, Casino Operation Director. “The titles in the mix are extremely interesting and provide lots of bonuses and fun during play. This in combination with the possibility of getting even bigger winnings thanks to the connection to Bell Link, which is very popular in our casino, is a guarantee that this will be another very successful EGT product.”

The post EGT’s Gods & Kings Link with first installation in Bulgaria appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Continue Reading

Trending