Social responsibility concerns see Anitra Linnéa Steen step down as Chairwoman of Svenska Spel

Concerns regarding Svenska Spel’s social responsibility strategy have led Executive Chairwoman Anitra Linnéa Steen to resign from her governance role at the state-owned Swedish gambling operator.

The former politician detailed to Swedish business news source Dagens Industri that she felt that Svenska Spel’s core focus had changed from helping national social initiatives to delivering higher revenues.

“For a social democracy it has always been important to have a clear social responsibility, and Svenska Spel has had an efficient gaming policy which has been of great importance for social causes; now it is on the way out.”

“One should not have private profit interests drive sales in these activities” Steen noted.

Amid the declining year-on-year financial performance of Svenska Spel, Steen has been one of Sweden’s biggest critics against offshore online gambling, calling for the government to impose tougher punishments on unlicensed operators targeting national consumers.

Swedish officials are reported to be in talks with Swedish healthcare executive Erik Strand regarding the Chairmanship of Svenska Spel.

At present Sweden faces mounting pressure from the European Union to begin to reform its national gambling framework in-line with European business and competition standards.

To date  European licensed operators have targeted Sweden as a ‘grey market’ nation, causing rifts between its state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel and national gambling regulator Lotteriinspektionen.