Spelinspektionen has developed a new method for calculating the Swedish gambling market’s channelisation rate to the country’s licensed operators.
The degree of channelisation is described by the Swedish gambling authority as measuring “how much of Swedes’ gambling takes place at gambling companies with a Swedish license”, referring to the competitive market which mainly consists of online casinos and bookmakers.
In regulatory letter FI2023/03130, Spelinspektionen was commissioned by the Swedish government to develop a new method to determine the degree of channelisation in the country’s gambling market, as well as propose an indicator for reporting in the budget bill.
As such, the authority evaluated several methods to figure out which method or methods should be used.
Through its research, Spelinspektionen’s new method determined that four indicators need to be used to calculate the channelisation rate: a questionnaire survey for players, measurement of internet traffic, estimation of turnover from internet traffic, as well as data from H2 Gambling Capital.
The authority noted that before the Swedish licensing system was introduced in 2019, the channelisation rate was estimated to be less than 50%.
Utilising the four different indicators above together, Spelinspektionen has determined that the channelisation rate for 2023 was 86%.
“The results show that the degree of channeling varies depending on the method and form of play,” commented Camilla Rosenberg, Director General of Spelinspektionen.
“The Swedish Gaming Authority believes that there are four different indicators that together can give a picture of the degree of channelisation.”
Last month, Spelinspektionen announced that a ‘situation description’ had been produced to do more effective work against illegal gambling.
The situation description was developed to assist the authority in achieving a “more comprehensive picture of illegal gambling online in Sweden”, as well as to help protect consumers, public health and tax revenue within the country’s licensing system.
