New statistics: the proportion of regulated gambling in the Swedish licensing system at a critically low level

The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) today presents statistics for the proportion of regulated and unregulated gambling in Sweden, so-called channelization. BOS has had SKOP measure the channelization partly for all online gambling in Sweden, partly for individual product types, such as sports betting and online casino.

The report presented today shows that the channelization for the online gambling market as a whole is 77 percent. Sports betting has a channelization of 84 percent and online casino 72 percent.

The state’s goal with the gambling regulation is that at least 90 percent of Swedish consumers’ gambling shall be channelled to the Swedish license market, in which the Swedish Gambling Authority assigns gambling licenses and monitors the gambling market.

 There is no doubt that the Swedish licensing system is in a serious situation. Far too much effort has been spent on the part of the state to force the licensed gambling companies to implement measures that have not been well received by gambling consumers. I’m thinking of things like Sweden’s de facto ban on bonuses and the ban on betting in lower football divisions. This has not been appreciated by the gambling community, around a quarter of whose gambling now leaks out of the licensing system into the unlicensed gambling market. In the unlicensed gambling market, both consumer protection and tax payments to the state are non-existent, says Gustaf Hoffstedt.

If we are to succeed in reversing this development, a shift in mentality on the part of the state is required, from hunting, fining and limiting the range of games for licensed gambling companies to hunting the unlicensed ones instead. As well as not regulating the licensed companies’ ability to retain gambling consumers on the licensed market. It is possible to reverse the trend, and from the industry’s side we are prepared to join hands with the state to achieve the goal of improved channelization in Sweden, Gustaf Hoffstedt concludes.