The gambling industry is one of the more active sectors when it comes to advertising in the country of Sweden. The country is fertile ground for operators looking to capitalize on the advantages of being available on the internet 24/7.
Nowhere are the numbers for gaming companies more pronounced than in the television market where Unibet led all gaming operators in spend with more than 270 million SEK.
The equivalent of $30 million was enough to rank fourth overall in the category of TV advertising through the first 11 months of 2016, according to figures released earlier this month by Sifo Advertising Measurements in collaboration with Dagens Media.
Just behind Unibet was state-owned gambling company, Svenska Spel with almost 243 million SEK ($27.3 million) which amounts to a 1.4 share. International conglomerate Procter & Gamble topped the category with more than 900 million SEK ($101 million) spent.
Svenska Spel was one of the more prominent brands overall in advertising, ranking in the top 10 for television, radio and streaming. In fact, the gaming provider ranked second overall in radio spend.
Local television spend saw CasinoHeroes.com make its mark by spending 57.2 million SEK ($6.4 million) and a 2.3% share. In the mobile gaming category, LeoVegas.com cracked the top ten with 17.7 million SEK ($2 million) spent and a 1.7 share.
Bet365 Group led all other companies, both in the gaming industry and out, in the category of streaming television. Swedes have been consistently moving from terrestrial television to the online format. Industry experts expect that revenue will continue to rise on internet television providers including both free and subscription formats.
Perhaps advertising is not directly related to the performance of publicly traded gaming companies. Betsson AB is predicted to have a good year in 2017 with some financial analysts forecasting that the Swedish company should be part of savvy investors’ portfolio.
People in Sweden are also utilizing the services of online casinos that did not crack the top of any of the ranked categories like popular review site Spelautomater Casino which provides information on some of the top operators that offer video slots.
Swedish regulator, Lotteriinspektionen, has been trying to crack down on illegal operators in recent years by trying to restrict advertising of those companies that do not hold a Swedish license.
Plenty of news about the Swedish gaming market is expected in the coming months as the result of possible gambling law changes. Some of the changes include changing the minimum age for those looking to purchase lottery tickets.
In addition, the European Union Commission has brought legal action against the country claiming that its current gaming laws are in cortradicition with the EU’s laws on gambling.
