Sweden’s Svenska Spel Revenues Decline Due to Responsible Gaming Measures
Sweden’s monopolistic gaming company Svenska Spel released its third quarter results for 2014, posting less revenue and less operating profit when compared to the same period a year ago.
The company recorded 2.1 billion Swedish krona ($284 million) in 2014 third-quarter revenue, representing a 10.9-percent decline from the 2.4 billion Swedish krona ($325 million) in the same period in 2013.
This revenue decline is even sharper than the first nine months of revenue in 2014 with 6.6 billion Swedish Krona ($893 million) that declined 8.9 percent from the 7.1 billion Swedish krona ($960 million) from the same period last year.
The 2014 third-quarter operating profit of 1.1 billion Krona ($149 million) declined at a steeper pace than revenues. The third-quarter profits last year were 1.3 billion Krona ($176 million), representing a 14.2-percent decline year over year.
Year-to-date operating profit in 2014 declined nine percent from 3.8 billion Swedish krona ($514 million) in 2013 to 3.5 billion Swedish krona ($473 million) in 2014.
Chief executive officer of Svenska Spel Lennart Käll commented these losses were expected by the gaming company. “The decrease is according to plan," he said. "In recent years, we have seen the Swedish gambling market evolve in the wrong direction."
Käll believes the major driver for the decline is more responsible gaming measures putting the company in a better socially responsible position "that comes before short-term profit motives."
The long term may provide a healthier outlook for the company and the country's gamblers, according to Käll. “Therefore, we show the way to a healthier gaming market through the introduction of several gaming action, including compulsory registration."
Photo courtesy of fc08.deviantart.net
Get all the latest PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
