Svenska Spel has pushed back against criticism that it has softened its responsible-gambling priorities, after an Aftonbladet editorial questioned whether the state operator was putting profits ahead of customer protection. The editorial also asked whether the company could still distinguish itself from private-sector igaming operators after the volume of gambling advertising seen around the FIFA World Cup.
In response, Annika Hjälm, Svenska Spel’s head of responsible gaming and AML, said the idea that responsible gaming had been downgraded was wrong. She said the company had “clarified and strengthened” what applies to its customers, and described its approach as evidence-based, built on identifying risk early and acting before gambling problems develop.
Hjälm said Svenska Spel uses real-time behavioural monitoring and new technology, including artificial intelligence, to spot warning signs. When risky patterns are detected, the company can respond with information, support, direct customer contact or restrictions on gambling.
She also said the technology has reduced the need for manual processes and changed staffing needs, with more people now working on technical development and fewer on manual tasks. Svenska Spel said it has Sweden’s lowest deposit limits, including a monthly ceiling of SEK 1,000 for customers aged 18 to 19, and lower thresholds for players under 25.
The current reports did not fully agree on the quarter’s financial labels, but both pointed to a strong period for the company. One said gross gaming revenue rose 8% to SEK 1.963bn and operating profit was SEK 1.276bn. Another described net gaming revenue of SEK 1.963bn, up 7%, with operating profit of SEK 617m. Both said sports betting and online casino were important drivers, with Oddset and the Sport & Casino division singled out for strength.
The National Association for Gambling Addiction separately argued that Svenska Spel’s commercial drive was starting to overshadow its responsible-gambling commitments. The dispute goes to a long-running question for a state-owned operator about whether growth and player protection can move in the same direction.
That tension is not new. Svenska Spel’s 2016 annual report said its mandate was to promote a healthy and safe gaming market and to safeguard social protection considerations, with concern for customers and the minimising of gaming’s negative effects weighing more heavily than profits. The report also said an external independent evaluation commissioned in spring 2016 found that responsible-gaming tools worked and had an effect, and that customers who used them played less risky.
The company said it had funded a research post in gambling addiction at Lund University since 2014, and that Anders Håkansson was appointed Sweden’s first professor of medicine focused specifically on gambling addiction in December. Hjälm also said Svenska Spel has put more than SEK 100m into research on gambling harm over the past 15 years.
