Svenska Spel to restructure land-based gaming business
The company reported a fall in land-based gaming revenue in H1.
Sweden.- The Swedish state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel has announced that it will restructure its land-based gaming business after a drop in revenue in H1. The segment comprises the Casino Cosmopol venues and its Vegas slot machine operations.
Svenska Spel reported net gaming revenue of SEK 1.97bn (€170m) for H1, up slightly from SEK1.96bn in H1 2022. Online revenue was up by 9 per cent, now accounting for over half (52 per cent) of the company’s total. However, revenue from the land-based Casino Cosmopol chain and Vegas slot machine business fell by 13 per cent (down SEK29m) to a SEK52m loss.
Revenue from the Tur lottery business remained steady, up just 1 per cent at SEK1.21bn.
The company said it believed the fall in land-based gambling revenue was due to increased online competition as well as its introduction of tougher social responsibility and anti-money laundering protections. It says it will restructure the division to reduce costs.
President and CEO Patrik Hofbauer said: “We continue to simplify and improve the gaming experience for customers and our focus on sustainable gaming has a positive effect. The share of healthy revenues and the number of sustainable customers is increasing, while risky gambling is decreasing.”
The company highlighted a fall in problem gambling after its introduction of 10-minute play breaks for Vegas slot machines and mandatory income reviews for players aged under 20 that want to set monthly gaming limits over SEK1,000. It said data shows that 70 per cent of customers who exhibit signs of problem gambling had reduced their gambling after receiving an interaction from the company.
In March, Svenska Spel pledged to increase its monitoring of “at-risk behaviours” due to the current cost-of-living crisis. It stressed that figures suggest a decrease in gambling among at-risk customers in January and February but recognised the financial challenges being faced by the population.
