Sweden, open clash between operators and state concessionaire: new gambling restrictions divide the market and put consumer protection at risk
A heated debate has erupted in Sweden, one that could reshape the balance of the country’s gambling market. The controversy began with two opposing op-eds published in the pages of the financial daily Dagens Industri. On one side stands Svenska Spel, the state-owned operator led by CEO Anna Johnson, who on 1 October reignited calls for a risk classification of gambling products, with tighter limits on those deemed most problematic, such as online casino. On the other side, BOS – the association representing licensed private operators – whose Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt responded on 6 October with a sharp critique, warning of the dangers such reforms could bring.
Svenska Spel’s proposal
According to Anna Johnson, the time has come to adopt a more restrictive strategy. In her op-ed, Svenska Spel’s CEO stressed the need for a classification system based on the level of risk associated with different games. The stated aim is twofold: to strengthen player protection and to encourage more responsible consumption. The proposed approach would apply stricter limits to forms of entertainment considered to carry higher risks, particularly online casinos. In the company’s vision, this would help counter harmful gambling behaviour and foster long-term sustainability across the market.
BOS’s counter-argument
BOS wasted no time in replying. In his editorial, Secretary General Gustaf Hoffstedt issued a clear warning: overly rigid measures could backfire. If licensed operators are prevented from promoting and distributing their products, players may increasingly turn to unlicensed or illegal platforms. Such a shift, Hoffstedt argued, would ironically increase the risks for consumers, exposing them to fewer safeguards and a greater chance of developing problematic gambling patterns.
Competition and advantages for the monopolist
Hoffstedt also highlighted what he described as a conflict of interest. Svenska Spel, he noted, operates both as the state monopoly in the lottery sector and as a direct competitor in the online gambling market. Any potential advertising ban on online casinos would, in his view, play directly into the hands of the state operator. While private companies would lose their ability to promote casino products, Svenska Spel could continue advertising its lotteries, indirectly channelling customers towards its own online casino offer. This, private operators argue, would distort competition and further entrench the monopoly’s dominance.
The regulatory dilemma
The clash between Svenska Spel and BOS brings back to the forefront a fundamental question for Swedish regulation: how to balance consumer protection with the need to sustain a competitive and attractive market for licensed operators. On the one hand, there is mounting pressure to adopt stricter rules to curb problem gambling. On the other hand, there is concern that excessive restrictions could undermine the policy objective of channelisation – steering players into the regulated system – thereby weakening the very protections regulators seek to enforce.
What lies ahead
The debate remains unresolved, and the coming months will be decisive in shaping Sweden’s gambling policy. What is clear, however, is that the exchange has already exposed deep tensions between a state operator presenting itself as the guardian of responsible consumption and a private sector demanding fair and balanced rules to compete on equal terms. The challenge will be to strike a compromise that safeguards players – the true stakeholders in this debate – in a market that continues to evolve at a pace.
This article was first published in Italian on 9 October 2025.
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