Sweden reviewing fate of betting monopolies post-liberalization

Sweden’s government has launched a review of the effects of its new online gambling liberalization on current betting monopolies Svenska Spel and ATG.

Last week, Swedish legislators unanimously voted to approve the country’s new gambling law, which will open up the online market to international gambling operators for the first time. The new rules are set to take effect on January 1, 2019.

Following the vote, the government announced a review of what impact the liberalized market will have on state-owned operators Svenska Spel and AB Trav Och Galopp (ATG), which currently hold monopolies on sports betting and horserace betting, respectively.

The review will examine what the end of these monopolies will mean for funding of both sports and racing. The latter is of particular concern to the government, given that ATG provides 87% of racing funding, and the government is proceeding under the expectation that a new funding mechanism will be necessary.