SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Svenska Spel has informed that it will close the Casino Cosmopol venues in the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö.
The decision was taken as Svenska Spel continues to reorganise the Casino Cosmopol unit, which faces “issues with profitability due to a decrease in visitor numbers.”
As such, Svenska Spel plans to close Casino Cosmopol locations in Gothenburg and Malmö to limit losses, with the closure date pending the conclusion of union negotiations as the closure will impact around 120 employees in Gothenburg and 80 in Malmö.
Ola Enquist, CEO of Casino Cosmopol, stated: “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. Therefore, we now intend to wind down two of our casinos.”
Following consecutive years of revenue declines, in 2023 Svenska Spel initiated a strategic review of its Casino Cosmopol and Vegas Slot units. Continued challenges saw Svenska Spel report that the Cosmopol and Vegas units had absorbed losses of SEK 52m (€5m) for year-to-date trading.
Seeking to turn around Cosmopol’s performance, Svenska Spel has initiated an action program including organisational restructuring, changing opening hours, a new restaurant concept, and staff reductions.
Following the closure of Gothenburg and Malmö locations, the Casino Cosmopol venue in Stockholm will be the only remaining land-based casino in Sweden. Svenska Spel underscored that its review of Casino Cosmopol is in cooperation with the Swedish state and trade unions.
Svenska Spel prepares for a transformative 2024, in which the state-owned lottery and gaming group will be led by new CEO Anna Johnson succeeding Patrik Hofbauer, from June 2024.
In addition, Svenska Spel will launch its new Oddset sportsbook platform, powered by Kambi Group as the principal technology partner.
Outgoing CEO Patrik Hofbauer underlined Svenska Spel’s commitment to providing the Swedish state’s land-based gaming offering, yet difficult decisions had to be made on loss-making units.
“In the last ten years, online casinos have grown strongly, which changes the conditions for running land-based casinos,” Hofbauer noted.
“Despite significant measures, we see challenges to reach profitability for Casino Cosmopol. That is why we are now taking this further step to limit losses.”
