Revenue and net profit figures for Q3 released by Sweden’s state-owned operator Svenska Spel have undergone a decline on a YoY basis.
According to the most recent report, Svenska Spel achieved a revenue totalling SEK 1.78bn (£130m) in the three months ending 30 September – a 9.2% drop from the results showcased in last year’s third quarter.
Anna Johnson, CEO of Svenska Spel, has commented that the slowing down in financial gains is reverberating the changes implemented by the Swedish Riksdag that brought a 4% hike to the gambling tax – raising it to 22% from the previous 18% GGR taxation.
In Q3, Svenska Spel also started reporting on the income generated by non-risk players, which currently stands at 93% according to the latest figures.
“Our strengthened gambling responsibility also affects the group’s revenue negatively,” commented Johnson.
“It will continue to do so as we plan for more measures going forward. It is a conscious priority because we want sustainable growth – a balance between growth and responsibility. And we do it out of concern for our customers.”
The numbers point to a decline in revenue from Svenska Spel’s Sport & Casino vertical, which stood at SEK 447m in Q3 2024 – 12.4% less than what it was a year ago. The state operator explained the decline with more stricter measures taken when it comes to responsible gambling.
Revenue generated from its offline vertical dropped by 10.3% YoY to SEK 595m, with a more pronounced decline of 25.6% being felt across restaurant and bingo halls revenues.
Offsets in this specific category were mainly driven by the series of closures of Casino Cosmopol venues, which combined saw a drop in revenue of 76.3% to SEK 31m – with the last land-based casino still operating in Stockholm.
On the backdrop of offline revenue declines, online gambling was up 2.3% to SEK 1.06bn for Svenska Spel in Q3, with the majority (51%) of that being generated on mobile, while 59% of all Q3 gambling revenue was brought by online gambling.