British and Swedish regulators continue to work together on best practice in gambling regulation

Under the extended MoU, the two organisations continue to work together on best practice in gambling regulation. This arrangement began in November of 2019.

Focus areas of the MoU include promoting a common understanding of legitimate interests and engaging on matters of mutual policy and operational interest. The two regulators will also continue to support each other with operational assistance.

“The gambling market is global and it is important to have good relations in order to cooperate with other gambling authorities,” Spelinspektionen director general Camilla Rosenberg said. “Although our markets differ, we have many common areas where we can learn from each other and exchange experiences. “By working together, we can achieve our common goals of a healthy and safe gambling market.”

Spelinspektionen has similar MoU agreements in place with regulators in the Netherlands, Malta and Gibraltar.

Swedish market shrinks in 2023

The extended MoU comes after Spelinspektionen reported official figures for Sweden’s gambling market in 2023. These showed a 1.2% decline in gambling revenue to SEK27.13bn (£2.07bn/€2.43bn/$2.66bn).

Online gambling remained the primary source of revenue at SEK17.03bn but was 0.7% lower than the previous year. There was also a decline in state lottery and slots revenue, with this falling 3.6% to SEK5.60bn. In addition, revenue from state-owned Casino Cosmopol land-based casinos slipped 11.4% to SEK485m.

However, revenue from national lotteries climbed 1.4% to SEK3.60bn. Public games revenue was also up 9.3% to SEK199m and land-based commercial gambling revenue edged up 2.3% to SEK225m.

No stopping gambling growth in Britain

As for Great Britain, the Commission is yet to release full figures for 2023. The most recent data for last year covers the online sector in Q3, during which gross gambling yield (GGY) increased 4% year-on-year to £1.30bn.

Slots GGY amounted to £618m, up 6% on the previous year and the highest quarterly total on record. Real-event betting GGY reached £468m, up 5%, online casino GGY hit £159.7m, virtual betting £12.0m, esports betting £2.4m and poker £17.6m. An additional £2.0m came from other sources.

For the land-based sector, machines were the main source of GGY in Q3 with £293m, down 3%. Over the counter GGY was down 3% to £153m but self-service betting terminals GGY jumped 17% to £116m.