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Svenska Spel Demand Ban On All Lottery-Based Betting In Sweden
By Shane Addinall Dec 05, 2019 IndustrySuffering from internal challenges and low revenues Svenska Spel CEO calls for a ban on all lottery betting in the hopes of ending the cannibalisation of the licenced Swedish lottery market. But does he have the authority to back up the call?In a recent press release on Svenska Spels official blog, CEO Patrik Hofbauer expressed deep concern and frustration with the rogue betting companies who misuse their licences under the new Swedish gaming law to offer what he calls “shadow play” bets.
“The shadow games companies have a license for betting, but use this to spit on lotteries. That was hardly the purpose of the new gaming team. This loophole competition removes important lottery revenue from a public utility - and it is a development that can accelerate quickly."
Svenska Spel has come under fire recently from several directions and this push to ban companies who offer these shadow bets could be a necessary show of strength and a way to recapture lost revenues, especially given that Sweden’s third-quarter earnings for 2019 are the lowest since the regions re-regulation.
✓What Is This Shadowy Betting Practice?
The main source of Hofbauer’s ire is betting companies who instead of pursuing their own lottery licences opt to offer fixed odds betting based on the outcome of actual licenced lotteries.
As Hofbauer puts it:
“… the investigation is looking at is the phenomenon of "shadow play". This means that a betting company offers betting - but on other betting companies' products! It can be games like American Powerball, German Keno or Finnish Lotto.”
He goes to state that he finds it “incomprehensible” that such parasitic betting companies can continue to exist given that they “cannibalise on well-known lotteries without owning the brands themselves”.
✓Is Banning Lottery Betting A Viable Solution?
One of the main issues here is the nature of betting. While there are fixed categories like sports betting and eSports betting, there is also a more nebulous side to the industry where punters bet on the names of new-born Royals and what day of the month the world will end.
It’s this “fair-game” approach to betting that allows companies to offer bets on the outcomes of events they don’t own, be it a soccer match or a lottery draw.
That being said Denmark is one region who took a stand against lottery betting, banning the practice completely. In his recommendations to the gaming committee, Hofbauer cited their ruling on the matter as grounds for Sweden adopting the same stance.
However, with the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling having already voiced their concern Svenska Spels harsh treatment of licenced operators runs the risk of pushing them to drop their licences and return to black market operations, it is touch and go whether they will support as drastic a measure as outright banning in the near future.
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