Online Casino Moves to Land
The Betsson online casino gambling and betting group announced a plan to further
challenge the Swedish government’s restrictive land and internet gambling
policies. Sweden is one of the more than ten EU member-states in negotiations
with the European Commission for running a state monopoly. And as the Swedish
government comes to terms with competition within the land and online casino
gambling market, Betsson announced plans to open a betting shop in Stockholm.
There has been no word yet from Svenske Spel (the state land and online gambling
monopoly) or the state government, but most in the industry expect that Betsson
will in fact encounter some problems along the way.
As Betsson begins to establish a land-based betting shop in Stockholm, Svekse
Spel is searching for ways to keep Betsson and other similar online casinos out
of the Swedish internet gambling market. The move into the land gambling
industry will already place an unprecedented pressure on Svenske Spel to compete
with incentives and better odds at the Betsson betting shop. Some on the Swedish
Gambling Board assert that Betsson will face inspection by the Board once it
opens its doors, and there is rumor that Svenske Spel and the state land and
online casino gambling board plan to challenge Betsson’s right to operate in the
country.
Betsson on the other hand is assured of their right and even assert that they
are positive that the European Court of Justice would uphold the online casino
gambling group’s right to operate a land betting shop in Sweden. The CEO of
Betsson, Pontus Lindwall, commented on why the company is looking to move into
the Swedish gambling market, “We are taking this opportunity to challenge the
Swedish gaming monopoly as we see betting shops as an interesting development of
our business. Betting shops complement our online offering and our aim is to
create more freedom of choice for our players.” There is no telling how this
situation will all play out until next week when Betsson attempts to open its
doors to Swedish gamblers. |