Svenska Spel Permitted to raise fixed-odds payouts
Tuesday October 22,2013 : SVENSKA SPEL GETS COMPETITIVE
Government permits operator to raise fixed-odds payouts
Sweden's largest gaming operator Svenska Spel has been given permission by the Swedish Government to increase payouts on fixed-odds sports betting from October 18, 2013 in a bid to create parity with private operators which will allow the Swedish operator to become more competitive.
In addition to the more attractive odds, the company said the higher reimbursement will lead to greater variety and more forms of gambling, strengthening its entire sports betting offer.
“It's a great day for odds, Svenska Spel and especially for our customers who for years have been calling for better payouts. As the only gaming company with a sports betting license in Sweden, we become a stronger and more attractive game. We can and we will now offer more competitive odds. We will also strengthen our corporate responsibility activities as more people choose to play safe and secure games at Svenska Spel," said Peter Zäll, Head Sports and Lotteries at Svenska Spel.
The changes will see different odds scales applied to ensure that the total reimbursement of Svenska Spel games does not exceed 85 percent in total over a defined financial period.
In related news, the Swedish operator reported a 4.3 percent increase in profit after interest and tax for the first 9 months of 2013 amounting to 3.799 million kronor (US$2.775 million).
Other key performance highlights included:
- Net gaming revenue for the group rose to SEK 7.132 million (9M/2012: 7.108 million), an increase of 0.3 percent.
- Group operating profit was SEK 3.799 million (9M/2012: SEK 3.644 million), an increase of 4.3 percent.
- Group Net profit was SEK3.845 million (9M/2012: SEK3.679 million), up 4.5 percent.
- Operating margin was 22.6 percent (9M/2012: 21.7 percent).
Svenska Spel has additionally opted to remove discounts and bonuses.
"We show stable results due to lower costs for the group and a good sales performance in our numbers game. We are growing in pace with the rest of the online market and growing our market share at agents. A reduction in our overall market share continues as we lose customers and revenue to foreign companies operating without permission", concluded Lennart Käll, chief executive officer for Svenska Spel.
