Swedish Gambling Revenues in 2021 – Thriving numbers

Unlike almost every other business in the whole world, the gambling business has been thriving during last year. And this year still. It is not a surprise, since people were spending more time in their homes with more free time on their hands. However, we can still be surprised when we hear about the gambling revenues of 2020 and 2021 – just like the Swedish, we are about to discuss.

Hotels, bars, restaurants, musicians, airlines, and so on. We could go on and on about the people who endured great difficulties during 2020. And in 2021, they still face some serious problems. But not the gambling business! We could read several articles on online gambling news sites in Sweden, and all around the world, about how operators are doing great. And seeing the Swedish gambling revenues in 2021, we believe that the tendencies did not change much since we entered this new year.

Swedish gambling regulations

The gambling laws in force in Sweden put the power of gambling in the hands of a state-owned monopoly, Svenska Spel. So, they basically controlled everything in this field, be it online or land-based gambling. But it was only until 2018. Now, there are other operators, like AB Trav och Galopp (ATG). That one provides horse race betting possibilities according to the Swedish online gambling laws. There are two basic pieces of legislation that control gambling: the 1994 Lotteries Act and the 1999 Casinos Act. There was also an amendment in 2002. And the regulators are still shaping the form of the gambling business in the country. And the offer of legal online sportsbook sites in Sweden is also growing with the new regulations – as our article states. But you can already find some favorites there, like Bwin sports.

According to iGamingBusiness: “As of May 2021, 101 companies had active licenses in the Swedish market, 71 of which were companies licensed for betting and/or commercial gaming online.” That meaning: whoever would like to place some bets online in Sweden, is free to do it on several platforms. And that is something that shows in the Swedish gambling revenues in 2021!

Swedish gambling revenues in 2021

The gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the country of Sweden was 6.25 billion SEK in the first quarter of 2021. That is about 530.4 million pounds, 615.3 million euros, and 750.4 million dollars! If we compare it on a year-on-year scale, it is 5.0% up. However, the previous quarter was stronger in this sense. iGamingBusiness.com went into details about the numbers. “Of the total GGR, SEK3.94bn was brought in by commercial online gambling operators, up 7.4%. A further SEK1.40bn came in through the country’s state lottery and slot game operators, up 24.0%, and SEK858m was brought in through lottery games for public benefit purposes, down 0.3%.”

About the numbers…

How did these numbers develop during these difficult times? Especially, since the land-based casinos run by the Svenska Spel have been closed for a long time – bringing no revenues. So it was bingo games for public benefit purposes (44 million SEK) and land-based commercial gaming – those meaning restaurant casinos – (6 million SEK) that bought in some revenues. And of course, online wagering. People have been engaged with online gambling sites in Sweden, such as Bwin sports, more than before. This is a good thing for many parties, but on the other hand, it yielded some problems, like harmful gaming. During the lockdown, people tend to lose their sense when playing some games online. That is why it is not a surprise, that according to Spelinspektionen, about 63,000 people used their self-exclusion schemes. It shows a 6.0% increase compared to the previous quarter.

You can discover more about Bwin Sportsbook here.