Sweden moving away from gambling monopoly
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Sweden’s ruling Moderate Party voted last week in favor of moving away from its gambling monopoly and toward privatization. Two of the other three parties in the country have also stated their support for the position which was part of the Moderate Party’s platform last year, along with the breakup of pharmacy and alcohol monopolies. Though Sweden is doing this voluntarily, the decisions are coming in the wake of expressed European Union disapproval of gambling monopolies in all of its member countries, against which Sweden had originally defended itself.
Although no formal timetable has yet been drawn up, one of the moves in this direction is the recent announcement that Svenska Spel, the government-owned company that runs Swedish gambling, will be working with Boss Media and an unnamed member of the World Lottery Association to offer another internet poker option.
With record-breaking profits of over US$200 million in the last quarter, due primarily to the runaway success of internet poker, the privatization is likely to lead to even higher profits in the industry.
The WLA company will be using Svenska Spel’s supervision and security systems which are likely to include means of regulation in order to fall in line with Sweden’s unwavering commitment to the prevention of unhealthy gaming. According to the English-language page of Svenska Spel’s website, “The overall responsibility for gaming addiction lies with the Government and parliament through the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.” This responsibility is unlikely to change with the privatization of gambling in the Nordic country.
