The coronavirus pandemic has set up a bunch of new rules and conditions. As a result of those conditions countries and people all over the world are suffering from the outcomes and the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Countries, as well as individual businesses, try to make the impact and the effect of the virus as minor as possible.
The gambling industry’s annual losses have been cut down drastically, due to the ongoing crises and in order to make people save their money more and spend less. Though, the drastic change turned out to be extreme for the country and people, as it reduced the sales by 30%. The limits to the gambling industry have been introduced by limiting the deposit amount and the bonuses.
Lately, the Swedish media outlet announced that the sales have decreased by 30% in the very short period from June to August. This is a very dramatic and significant loss for the industry and sales.
July 2 denoted the conventional usage of Sweden’s new SEK5k (US$537) week by week deposit limit for online casino players, and the SEK100k top on online gambling venues extra offers. The new principles were planned to restrict the potential for betting-related damage by Swedes stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of the genuine information neglecting to help the requirement for such extraordinary measures.
Among the organizations revealing noteworthy drops are the Comeon Group, which saw its Swedish deals tumble from SEK118m in June to only SEK83m in August, a drop of 29.6% (despite the fact that that decay was helped by the organization’s choice to close two of its signature brands to Swedish clients in May).
The Kindred Group (Unibet, Maria Casino) saw its business tumble from SEK101m to SEK72m (- 28.7%) over a similar period, while LeoVegas slid 29.6% to SEK57m. Legend Gaming plunged 27.8% to SEK13m while Bet365’s predominantly sports-centered activities fared a bit better, dropping under 6% to SEK64m.
Several comments have been made by the industry representative, among them being the CEO of Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), Gustaff Hoffstedt. He noted that Sweden’s online gambling industry is under extreme pressure and while many people definitely suffer from severe economic outcomes, the majority of them hope to avoid the new restrictions by transferring their loyalties to internationally licensed online casinos, which are not yet subject to any limitations and restrictions.
The state-controlled Ab Trav Och Galopp (ATG) is not feeling the squeeze, as Swedish horseracing hasn’t ended like most different games because of the pandemic, nor were ATG’s race wagering bids subject to any new spending limitations. ATG’s August deals added up to SEK522m, up 22.2% from June and 20.2% higher than August 2019.
Länsförsäkringar
Skarplöth’s eagerness regardless, the Länsförsäkringar insurance giant’s common finances activity has chosen to cleanse all betting administrators from its portfolios. Länsförsäkringar Fondförvaltning initially shed 20 gaming companies in Q1 and included another 28 – transcendently those contributing to online casino and poker this summer.
Sofia Aulin, who is the Länsförsäkringar Fondförvaltning sustainability manager, said that the purge was the result of the money laundering high risk, which was assessed by the Swedish Spelinspektionen gambling regulator. The assessment was provided earlier this year. The report also claimed that the online casinos appear to be the primary sources of money laundering, thus getting rid of similar investments into similar industries would also exclude any kind of risks and dubious perceptions regarding the company overall.
While many countries all over the word experience certain changes and challenges due to the crisis, Sweden is definitely not the only country in Nordics, which is dealing with gambling-related risks and investments.