Sweden iGaming channelisation rate down in 2020, Spelinspektionen calls for new measurements

On January 1st 2019 the Swedish iGaming market was re-regulated. This was done, in part, to help funnel players to licensed operators with higher player safety standards. The Swedish Agency for Public Management has been trusted by the government to follow up and evaluate this regulation. In their latest report for the year 2020, they found a channelisation rate of 85%, down from 88% in 2019.

The channelisation rate is measured by comparing the proportion of players who gamble with licensed operators versus unlicensed operators. The low rate previous to the re-regulation can be explained by the fact that only state owned Svenska Spel and AB Trav & Galopp (ATG) had the licenses required to offer online gambling in the country. 

In the first year of regulation in 2019, many more licensed operators entered the market, and as a result the rate increased to 88%. However that quick growth didn’t continue in the second year of regulation, falling further behind the Swedish government’s goal of at least a 90% rate. 

In addition, the Swedish Gambling Authority says that it’s hard to combat gambling on illegal sites, and call for new measurements to gain control over the gambling market. 

Swedish affiliate Casinodealen.se shares a similar view: When bonus limits were implemented we saw fewer visitors to our site. The lower bonus amounts don't seem to be as attractive for customers as the bigger ones that unlicensed operators offer. While 2020 was by no means a normal year, this report somewhat confirms our suspicions that operators outside the Swedish licensing system benefited at the hands of the licensed ones.” says Mattias Folkesson from Casinodealen.se

BOS Secretary General, Gustaf Hoffstedt has been a loud critic of the low channelisation rate for a long time. BOS represents 22 gambling companies that hold a Swedish license, among them are giants such as bet365, Kindred, LeoVegas and William Hill. He hopes this report “now put an end to the political proposals that the so-called channeling into the Swedish licensing system is good.” Read the full statement here.

See the report from Swedish Agency for Public Management.