Svenska Spel outlines tech overhaul ahead of re-regulation

Svenska Spel is pouring resources into technological enhancements and new content ahead of the Swedish market opening up at the start of next year.

The company has this week announced the addition of Evolution Gaming’s Live Casino products from January 2019, as it bids to enhance its offering against the backdrop of the “fierce competition” of the re-regulated market. 

Svenska Spel told iGamingBusiness.com that it is “positive” about the opportunities it anticipates, including the addition of horse racing and iCasino products.

Its new Svenska Spel Live Casino service will go live the moment Sweden’s new gambling law comes into effect on January 1. iGamingBusiness.com also understands it is also developing new lottery content that will be launched next year.

“In parallel to technology investments and new content implementation we are investing a lot of time to further develop our digital experiences via customer friendly interfaces and personalised communication,” Fredrik Wastenson, managing director of Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, told iGamingBusiness.com.

“We have invested a lot in our CRM system and can now see a clear potential in personalised customer experiences on our site as of January 1.”

As well as allocating resources to improving its offering, Svenska Spel must also develop the infrastructure for two separate entities – one for number games and scratch tickets and one for sports and iCasino games. Its current customer platform will be divided into two different player account management environments and two separate customer databases.

“This is enormous investment for Svenska Spel which will engage most of our available IT resources, but in parallel we will do our outmost to provide a lot of new games as of January 1,” Wastenson added.

“This includes betting on horse racing and esports together with a very competitive and responsible offering of iCasino.”

Licensing application documents are expected to be published on the Swedish Gambling Authority´s website on July 10. After July 24 the regulations and guidelines of the Lotteriinspektionen will be pre-published on the website. 

Under the terms of the Gambling Act, from January 1 the gambling market will be divided up into sectors: a competitive sector, primarily including online gambling and betting; a sector reserved for non-profit purposes, primarily including lotteries and bingo; and a sector reserved for the central government, primarily including state-owned casinos and gambling on token machines.

Gambling subject to licensing will be taxed at 18%, while there will be “strict requirements for moderation in marketing gambling”.