During the spring, the Minister of Social Security presented the picture that online casino gambling should have increased sharply during the ongoing pandemic. No verified facts for this claim have been presented.

New recent statistics from the Swedish Tax Agency show that there has been a transfer of players, not to online casinos, but mainly to games on horses.

Each month, the Swedish Tax Agency reports all gaming revenue reported from the licensed gaming companies. April’s results show a sharp decline for sports betting, as a result of sports events around the world being stopped.

The largest increase in revenue, which is clearly evident in the Swedish Tax Agency’s report, lies with the company that primarily offers games on horses. Here, there is an increase of 37 per cent from March to April. The same company shows a similar increase (33%) in revenue in April compared to the average from the first quarter in 2020 and turnover in April was the highest since Swedish regulation came into force in January 2019.

The reported figures confirm that the players have changed their behavior as a result of the current pandemic. There has been a clear shift in gambling from sports games to games on horses, while online casino games have not increased, which is in sharp contrast to what the Social Security Minister claims. In its recent report to the Government, the authority responsible for the Swedish gaming market also confirms that they cannot detect increased gambling during the corona pandemic, says Gustaf Hoffstedt.

In order to establish a responsible and well-functioning Swedish gaming market, decisions must be made based on facts. Misappropriated and inadequately founded restrictions threaten to transfer gambling from the secure licensed gaming companies to the unlicensed gaming companies, beyond the control that gaming legislation aims to bring about, concludes Gustaf Hoffstedt.

What the Swedish Tax Agency’s report does not present is the change in gaming at the unlicensed companies that offer games to Swedish customers.