Swedish gambling monopoly faces new threat? - Online Bingo News

Sweden’s gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, is facing opposition from an unlikely source in the form of the ruling Moderate party. At its recent party conference, the Moderates voted to privatize Svenska Spel as a way of eliminating the government’s current online gambling monopoly policy.

Currently, Svenska Spel is completely government owned and controls all gambling within Sweden, a fact that has been a cause for controversy within the European Union (EU) which demands member states must open their markets to all EU member states.

Getting rid of the monopoly would mean a possible opening of the Swedish market to gambling opertions, including online bingo games and online bingo halls. The move might be construed as an attempt by the Swedish political establishment to placate the European Commission whish has actively condemned gambling monopolies within the EU.

With this change by the Moderat party, only the Christian Democrats are now in favour of retaining the monopoly.

Svenska Spel has proven a very profitable operation with over Euro 500 million in profits last year. Privatizing the company could see it priced at nearly Euro 7 billion. Such a move would place Svenska Spel in the forefront of the European gambling industry. Online bingo and free online bingo games are a growing sector in the Swedish online gaming market.

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