ATG CEO renews call for Sweden to hike online casino tax to spare horse racing

Hasse Lord Skarplöth says ATG’s profit was hampered by the tax rise last year.

Sweden.- Hasse Lord Skarplöth, chief executive of AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), has reiterated his call for a review of Sweden’s rise in gambling tax after the horse racing betting operator published flattish results. 

Skarplöth said that revenue had been hit by the general economic downturn, inflation and higher interest rates, while the rise in Swedish gambling tax from 18 to 22 per cent from July hit the operator’s profit. The operator’s tax payments in 2024 rose by 13.8 per cent year-on-year, although profit after tax was still up slightly at SEK1.48bn, a rise of 1.7 per cent year-on-year. 

Skarplöth has previously described the tax hike as a “horse tax” because of its impact on the profits that ATG generates to invest in the sector. He has again called for the government to consider an alternative framework that would charge online casino operators more and avoid hitting the horse racing sector.

“The increased gambling tax has a negative impact. To my eyes, this is a horse tax as ATG accounts for around 40 per cent of the state’s tax revenue from the gambling industry. We are pushing for a tax rate of 18 per cent for betting and 26 per cent for commercial online gambling. This would benefit both the state and public health. The work will continue in 2025.”

ATG has also been warning about the scale of black-market gambling in Sweden. It believes that channelisation to licensed gambling sites could be as low as 70 per cent.

ATG full-year results

ATG’s full-year revenue for 2024 was SEK6.19bn (€551m). That’s a rise of 2.5 per cent year-on-year. Net gaming revenue rose by 1.7 per cent to SEK5.36bn. Operating profit was up 1.4 per cent SEK1.81bn and pre-tax profit was up 1.8 per cent.

Net gaming revenue from horse race betting was down 0.5 per cent year-on-year to SEK3.89bn while sports betting revenue rose 7.8 per cent to SEK778m, boosted by Euro 2024 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Casino revenue rose by 8.2 per cent to SEK689m. 

ATG reported that its count of total active customers rose by 7.7 per cent to 1.4 million. Meanwhile, it launched over 600 new games, including the ATG Casino Jackpot in December.