LeoVegas has warned that the entire foundation of the legal Swedish igaming market is “shaking” due to unlicensed operators targeting players who have self-excluded.
In announcing the group’s third-quarter results for 2020, in which it increased revenue by one per cent year-on-year to €88.9m (€88.2m) and saw a rise of 26 per cent in depositing customers to 438,691 (347,464), CEO Gustaf Hagman called for strong measures to be taken by the authorities in order to combat the issue.
“In Sweden we are seeing a troubling development in which the unlicensed market continues to grow unhindered,” Hagman said.
“A growing number of operators without licences are actively targeting Swedish players, including those who have been barred by the self-exclusion tool Spelpaus. This has been confirmed by, among others, several organisations that provide help to people with a gambling problem. These organisations have noted that the majority of those seeking help are playing with the unlicensed operators.
“The problem is big and is shaking the foundation of the entire Swedish licence system. Quick and strong measures are now needed by Swedish politicians and authorities to ensure a well-functioning Swedish gaming market.”
During Q3, the LeoVegas group saw the launch of GoGoCasino and Livecasino.com in Finland, with an international launch of both brands in progress, while also increasing its ownership of esports betting operator Pixel.bet to 85 per cent from 51 per cent previously.
Preliminary revenue for October was €33.0m (€26m), representing growth of 27 per cent, with the company launching bingo as a new product category.
LeoVegas also stated it expects to receive nationwide licences for the German market once they are available and has made redundancies that it estimates will save the company a total of €1.5m.
Hagman said: “During the quarter our customer base again reached a new record level. The number of depositing customers grew 26 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, which confirms the strong development of our business. This is partly attributable to the ongoing structural shift from land-based gaming to online, but above all to our focus on creating the best product and experience for our customers.
“We had a favourable development in most of our markets during the quarter, with our growing customer base as the main driver. Many markets had double-digit growth compared with the same period a year ago.
“With a positive start to the fourth quarter, a record-large customer base and many exciting initiatives I am looking forward to a strong end to the full year.”
