Sweden’s state owned gambling operator Svenska Spel reported a year-on-year 4% decline in revenues to SEK 2.2 billion (€230 million) for its opening 2015 quarter performance (period ending 31 March).
The operator cited the impact of increased competition from remote operators and the introduction of new responsible gambling measures as the main reasons for its decline. Svenska Spel recorded a further 4% net profit decline of to SEK 1.2 billion (Q1 2014: SEK 1.3 billion).
In April Svenska Spel governance had urged Lotteriinspektionen Sweden’s gambling regulator to introduce new policies and measures which would toughen the country’s advertising code with regards to online gambling products.
Lennart Käll, CEO of Svenska Spel, commented on Q1 2015 performance
“Competition is tougher than ever. This, combined with the responsible gaming measures we introduced last year, means we did not manage to keep the growth rate required to maintain our market share.
“Our most important task ahead is that in the context of a clear responsibility to continue to strengthen the customer offering and customer experience so that it becomes even easier and more fun to play with us.”