Swedish horseracing betting operator ATG reports Q1 revenue up by 11%
The former Swedish horseracing monopoly operator ATG saw revenue of SEK1.46bn (€144.2m) for the quarter.
Sweden.- AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), the former monopoly operator of horseracing betting in Sweden, has reported that Q1 revenue rose 11 per cent year-on-year to SEK1.46bn (€144.2m).
Net gaming revenue came in at SEK1.27bn with agent revenue contributing SEK64m and other revenue the remainder.
The majority of revenue came from Sweden – SEK1.04bn from horseracing betting and SEK129m from sports betting.
Casino gaming contributed SEK60m, down 23.1 per cent year-on-year as a result of Sweden’s temporary deposit cap on online casino gaming. In December, ATG was sanctioned by the Swedish gambling regulator for allowing players to evade the cap.
The operator’s Danish revenue rose by SEK10m from the same quarter last year, to SEK42m.
ATG posted a final profit for the quarter of SEK416m, an increase of 27.2 per cent year-on-year .
The numbers mark a solid start to the year after ATG reported record net revenue of SEK5.35bn (€525.7m) for 2020.
CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth said: “Now that we are entering the second quarter, we will most likely see a break in the trend regarding ATG’s percentage growth in comparison with last year.
“The competitive situation in 2021, where the range of sports betting is now in full swing, is completely different compared to a year ago when sport basically stood still.
“This means that even if the sports product area will most certainly reach a new record in the coming quarters, it would be naive to believe otherwise than that our total net gaming revenues will develop negatively in relation to last year.
“From a historical perspective, any red numbers do not mean that ATG in a downward trend. Looking at 2019, which was a “normal” year, I am hopeful that we have found a new and higher level to grow from outside. We will get an indication of this in the next interim report at the end of August.”
Response to Sweden’s Gaming Market Inquiry
Skarplöth said that ATG would submit its response to Sweden’s Gaming Market Inquiry at the end of April, which looks likely to reignite arguments over the funding of horseracing in Sweden.
He said: “We appreciate the investigator’s proposal for risk classification of gaming products and have pursued this issue for a long time. On the other hand, we think that the investigator has been too short-term regarding the financing of equestrian sports and the issue of a market fee for games on horses.
“ATG is still the only company that contributes to the Swedish horse industry, despite the fact that many competitors have the horse game in their range. The horse industry is dependent on the funding that the game provides, which is why it would be reasonable to have an established model.”
