Casino Cosmopol to close two of its three casinos

The Swedish land-based casino brand will close its venues in Gothenburg and Malmö.

Sweden.- Svenska Spel has announced plans to close two Casino Cosmopol land-based casino venues due to a lack of profitability. The venues that will close are those in Gothenburg and Malmö. That will leave only the flagship Casino Cosmopol Stockholm operational.

The land-based casino brand was hard hit during the Covid-19 pandemic but has also suffered from a downturn due to the rise in online gaming. State-controlled Svenska Spel had changed its operating hours in October, but it says it has now decided to permanently close two venues to “limit losses”.

The move could affect 200 staff. Svenska Spel said it would hold negotiations with unions before it makes a final decision.

Casino Cosmopol chief executive Ola Enquist said: “This is an emotionally tough step to take as it affects many of our employees. We have taken a number of measures in an effort to increase revenue and reduce costs. Despite hard work, we see that the measures are not sufficient.”

On top of flat revenue, Casino Cosmopol has been hit with a SEK2m (€180,000) fine and a warning from the Swedish gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, for breaching anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

The regulator said that an investigation that it began in November 2021 found that Casino Cosmopol had failed in know-your-customer procedures. It also found “previous shortcomings” in relation to Sweden’s Money Laundering Act.

Casino Cosmopol accepted the findings but emphasised that they related to past issues. It noted that it has since introduced player registration for gaming machines and tables and lower thresholds for intervention. It said it had also improved staff training on AML measures and had increased the number of staff dedicated to monitoring.

For Q3 2023, Svenska Spel reported steady revenue overall at SEK 1.97bn (€167m). However, net gaming revenue from the land-based gaming operations of Casino Cosmopol and Vegas gaming halls was down by 11 per cent at SEK 247m. Svenska Spel attributed this to the increase in competition from online gaming and restaurant casinos.