Sweden’s gambling operators continue to curb their advertising spending, while the local regulator has fined another online casino licensee for failing to observe proper self-exclusion protocols.

Figures published this week show online casino operator Cherry AB topping the list of Swedish-licensed gambling operators in terms of advertising spending in the month of March. Cherry ranked third on the list with a total outlay of SEK52.1m (US$5.15m), although this represented a nearly 59% decline from the same month last year.

State-run Svenska Spel ranked seventh on the list with an outlay of SEK42.3m, down nearly 50% from March 2019. Unibet’s parent company Kindred Group placed a distant 17th as its spending fell nearly two-thirds to SEK33.2m, while state-run racing and betting operator ATG placed 20th with SEK30m (-11.7%).

The gambling operators’ spending cuts are at least partially due to the suspension of most live sports events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s perhaps not surprising then that Sweden’s Postcode Lottery made a push to grab some market share, resulting in its debut on the March chart in sixth place with ad spending of SEK42.4m.