Version: 02062004
Editor: Franka Pals
Publisher: Novamedia
Disclaimer: Novamedia disclaims all liability for information provided within the ”Novamedia European Gaming and Lottery Files”.The information is supplied by independent journalistic sources. No parts of these files may be reproduced in any form by print, photo print, microfilm or otherwise, or re-distributed electronically in any form without written permission from the publisher.
The Nordic constitutional monarchy of Sweden is one of the Scandinavian countries, neighbouring on Norway and Finland. There is a bridge-tunnel connection with Denmark in the South.
Sweden is well known for a number of high quality brand names, such as Ikea, Abba, Husquvarna, Saab and Volvo, inventions such as the Tetra Pak (paper package system for non carbonite liquids), the milking machine, the ball bearing and of course Alfred Nobel's dynamite (still linked to the annual Nobel Prizes), and its food, such as knekkebrod, herring and gravlax (which the connoisseur will only wash down with Aquavit. Skål!).
Famous names are Dag Hammarskjöld(ex-UN Secretary-General), Olof Palme (the ex-prime minister who was killed in central Stockholm in 1986), UN mediator Count Folke Bernadotte (assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948) and actresses Ingrid Bergman and Greta Garbo.
The capital, Stockholm, celebrated its 750th birthday in 2002. Göteborg is Sweden's second city. In both World Wars neutrality was preserved by Sweden.
Sweden is one of the 15 member states of the European Union. The country, however did not adopt the Euro, the European currency. The 12 countries that have introduced the Euro on January 1, 2002, are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Sweden is a young civilization in an old country. In past centuries, the country was mainly known for its constant wars. In the 17th century, Sweden was a Great Power in Europe, with a territory that extended almost all the way around the Baltic Sea.
Since 1814, however, Sweden has lived in peace, which has been the most important prerequisite for the build-up of the modern Swedish welfare state.
During the 20th century, Sweden evolved quickly from a poor agrarian country to one of the world's strongest industrial nations. The point of departure for this "Swedish industrial miracle" was the country's natural wealth of forests and ore, as well as a long series of ingenious inventions and an entrepreneurial tradition.
The Swedish Stock Exchange, Stockholmsbörsen, is a secondary market where, at present, equities, premium bonds, convertible loans, subscription rights, exchange-traded options/warrants and retail bonds are traded. Traders carry out all the trading on the Exchange. Stockbroking firms and banks that are members of Stockholmsbörsen employ those traders.
| Population: | 8 988 186 (May 31 2004) |
|---|---|
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 807,193; female 762,882) |
| Currency: | Swedish Krona,
SEK |
| GPD | purchasing power parity - $238.1 billion (2003 est.) real growth rate: 1.6% (2003 est.) per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,800 (2003 est.) |
| Internet: | 6,906,110 Internet users as of April 2004, 76.8% penetration |
| Mobile Phones | 8.086 Million mobile phone users in 2004, 91.1% penetration |
| Gaming Market | 36 Billion SEK gross sales (2003) On average 1,3% of the swedish disposable income is spent on gaming |
| Other | Unemployment 5.3% (May 2004) Consumer prices 0.5 % (June 2004 compared with June 2003) GDP +0.6% (Q1 2004 compared with Q4 2003) |
Lotteri Inspektionen is the Swedish National Gaming Board. In Sweden, lotteries and horse racing are regulated in the Lotteries Act (1994: 1000) and the Casino Act (1999: 335). There have been two major changes to the act, in 1997 and 1999 (1996: 1168 and 1999: 358), mainly concerning gambling machines. International casinos were allowed in 1999 and are separately regulated in the Casino Act.
In July 2000, a commission in an official report proposed amendments to the Lotteries Act. One of the report's main issues is the regulation of Internet gaming. According to the present Lotteries Act the authority to grant Internet licenses is reserved for the government. So far, the government has granted test licenses to Svenska Spel, ATG and A-lotterierna. (A-lotterierna is a non-profit organisation, which has as a principal aim to promote a public interest. It sells lotteries for the Swedish social democratic party).
The commission proposed that the new Act should authorise the Swedish Gaming Board to grant licenses for operating Swedish Internet lotteries. According to the report, this possibility is reserved for Swedish legal entities that are non-profit associations, and the licenses shall be limited to traditional lotteries and betting.
In March 2002 the Swedish Government submitted amendments to the Lotteries Act to the Swedish Parliament. The Government has notified the proposal to the EU-commission according to the EC-directive 98/34/
EC concerning technical regulations. The standstill period expired February 25, 2002, without any comments from either the EU-commission or any member state. The proposed amendments are made to adjust the Lotteries Act to the technical development. According to the proposal non-profit associations will be given a possibility to arrange lotteries that are affected by means of electromagnetic waves (i.e. Internet, SMS, IdTV).
The Swedish Gaming Board will be able to grant licenses to such lotteries under the same conditions as lotteries arranged by "traditional" means. The Government or the authority appointed by the Government may, according to the proposal, issue provisions regarding lotteries effected by means of electromagnetic waves, which require a licence. The Government further proposes that the prohibition for the organiser of a lottery to issue credit for stakes in the lottery also shall apply to the representative of the lottery organiser. Finally the Government proposes that lotteries arranged in more than one administrative province shall be able to use a probability calculus for the winnings schedule. According to the proposal the amendments will come into force from August 1, 2002.
Per Eriksson, the legal advisor of the Swedish Lotteri inspektionen confirms that: "It is correct that according to the changes to the Lotteries Act which have come into force on August 1, 2002, Swedish non-profit associations are able to distribute their games via digital media (the expression used in the Act is "effected by means of electromagnetic waves"). Licenses are to be issued by the Gaming Board. However,
AB Svenska Spel and ATG would still require a special permit by the government according to section 45 of the Act.
For the Swedish Lottery Act that came into force on July 2nd, 2003 see the Lotteries Act attachment.
In 1997 and in 1999, there were changes in the lotteries' gaming machines. In January 2001, the National Board of Trade came to the conclusion that the changes should have been notified according to the EC-directive 8/34/EC. Two Swedish courts of appeal have come to the conclusion that the changes ought to have been notified. In accordance with community case law (C-194/94), the courts stated that the changes in question were inapplicable to individuals.
The court decisions have the effect that certain gaming machines fall outside the scope of the Lotteries Act. The conflict between Swedish law and the EC law led to an increase in the number of unregulated gaming machines. New legislation set aside these problems and came into force late 2002.
In early 2003, the Swedish government tasked the National Gaming Board with attempting to survey illegal gaming on various gaming machines with cash prizes. The National Gaming Board submitted its report in August, which showed that gaming worth at least an additional SEK 3 billion is occurring on about 3000 machines that are no longer permitted in Sweden.
According to a prognoses by the National Gaming Board, the Swedish people spent SEK 33.5 billion on gaming in 2001 (an increase of 2 percent from 2000). This corresponds to approximately SEK 3,600 per capita. The Swedes spend slightly more than 3 percent of their disposable income on gaming.
| Ranking 25 largest games | Revenue MSEK 2003 |
Revenue MSEK 2002 |
Change % |
|---|---|---|---|
| (VLT's) | 6,919 | 5,993 | +15% |
| V75 | 3,996 | 3,599 | +11% |
| Triss | 3,187 | 3,132 | +2% |
| Bingolotto | 2,180 | 2,790 | -22% |
| Lotto | 2,159 | 2,152 | +0% |
| DD | 1,994 | 2,001 | -0% |
| Bingo | 1,800 | 1,836 | -2% |
| Oddset | 1,776 | 1,691 | +5% |
| Winner/Place | 1,589 | 1,694 | -6% |
| V65 | 1,372 | 1,169 | +17% |
| Restaurant casino | 1,100 | 1,126 | -2% |
| Keno | 1,091 | 1,034 | +6% |
| Stryktipset | 1,003 | 1,029 | -3% |
| V5 | 825 | 836 | -1 % |
| Casino Cosmopol | 720 | 304 | +137% |
| Joker | 610 | 579 | +5% |
| Trio | 565 | 649 | -13% |
| Skrapbingo | 461 | 314 | +47% |
| Måltipset | 398 | 415 | -4% |
| Miljonlotteriet | 344 | 330 | +3% |
| Tia | 343 | 401 | -14% |
| Greyhound | 314 | 241 | +30% |
| Kombilotten | 308 | 288 | +7% |
| Italienska stryktipset | 200 | 195 | +3% |
| Komb | 114 | 127 | -11% |
Source:Lotteriinspektionen (Swedish Gaming Board)
In June 2002 the Swedish parliament has voted to allow lotteries, bingo and casino gaming to be organised via the Internet. The changes to the Swedish lottery law have opened the door for the Swedish National Lottery, AB Svenska Spel, AB Travoch Galopp (the Swedish horse racing organisation) and non-commercial organisations to distribute their games via digital media. The new lottery law came into force in August 2002.
Within Europe, England and Norway (one license to NorskeSpill) are the only other countries to permit Internet gaming, with restrictions on English gambling organisations being lifted 2 years ago. So far, the major lottery and gaming organisations have been reluctant to get into the digital market due to the uncertainty as to which way the law would go. Now that the Swedish lottery law has been changed in favour of a regulated market, rather than prohibition, other countries will probably follow soon and thereby promote the digital trend further.
International competition via the Internet has weakened control over gaming and lottery activities in Sweden, leading the Swedish parliament to identify the need to modernise the law for public health reasons. This need has been met through the changes to the lottery law, which came into effect in August 2002. Swedish lottery and gaming interests have always regulated to minimise the potential negative effects of gambling, and this approach will continue in future.
|
1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamingcompanies | |||||||||||
| ATG | 7,305 | 8,036 | 8,770 | 9,049 | 9,332 | 9,795 | 10,177 | 10,502 | 10,680 | 10,177 | 10,534 |
| Svenska Spel | 10,695 | 11,269 | 12,732 | 13,342 | 13,949 | 15,557 | 17,685 | 18,813 | |||
| incl Tipstjänst | 6,990 | 6, 835 | 7, 202 | 7,177 | |||||||
| incl Penninglotteriet | 3, 800 | 4, 022 | 3, 790 | 3, 518 | |||||||
| Casino Cosmopol | 33 | 304 | 7205) | ||||||||
| Total | 18,095 | 18,893 | 19,762 | 19,744 | 20,601 | 22,527 | 23,519 | 24,451 | 26,270 | 28,166 | 30,067 |
| NGO games and lotteries | |||||||||||
| Folkspels lotteries | 2,360 | 2,498 | 2,997 | 3,112 | 3,255 | 2,896 | 2,944 | 2,898 | 3,119 | 3,011 | 2,294 |
| incl Bingolotto | 2,360 | 2,498 | 2,997 | 3,108 | 3,180 | 2,804 | 2,639 | 2,667 | 2,937 | 2,790 | 2,180 |
| Bingo | 2,424 | 2,352 | 2,100 | 2,000 | 1,983 | 1,960 | 1,958 | 1,915 | 1,869 | 1,836 | 1,800 |
| National lotteries | (682) | (644) | 617 | 634 | 589 | 743 | 710 | 739 | 794 | 853 | 912 |
| Local lotteries | (200) | (200) | 220 | 185 | 180 | 155 | 137 | 120 | 112 | 107 | 100 |
| Regional lotteries | 54 | 52 | 40 | 35 | 37 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 9 | ||
| AWP in bingo halls | 250 | 280 | 270 | 240 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 5,666 | 5,694 | 5,988 | 5,985 | 6,297 | 6,069 | 6,056 | 5,932 | 5,903 | 5,816 | 5,115 |
| Restaurant casino | (723) | (812) | 1,152 | 1,162 | 1,156 | 1,165 | 1,200 | 1,192 | 1,088 | 1,126 | 1,100 |
| Other AWP | 15 | 4 | 350 | 570 | 730 | 610 | |||||
| Total | 24,484 | 25,399 | 26,902 | 26,903 | 28,404 | 30,331 | 31,505 | 32,185 | 33,261 | 35,108 | 36,282 |
Source: Lotteriinspektionen (Swedish gaming Board)
Website: www.svenskaspel.se
Year Lottery Founded: April 1997.
Svenska Spel is the largest gaming company in Sweden with a market share of 54% and an annual turnover for 2003 of 19,5 billion SEK and net profit closing in on 4,6 billion SEK.
Gaming revenues for Svenska Spel rose in 2003 from SEK 17.7 billion to 18.8 billion, an increase of 6%. That figure does not include gaming revenues from Casino Cosmopol of SEK 720 million, to be compared with about 300 million in the preceding year, bringing total gaming revenues to SEK 19.5 billion. Total sales for the company increased more than 8% and Svenska Spel's market share rose from 53% to 54%. Profits were SEK 470 million higher than in 2002 to reach nearly SEK 4.7 billion, an increase of 11% - the highest in Svenska Spel's history.
The Svenska Spel group conducts business through its parent company, AB Svenska Spel, and its subsidiaries Casino Cosmopol AB, CC Casino Restaurang AB and Svenska Spel fastighets AB. Svenska Spel is wholly owned by the Swedish State and the entire revenue goes to its owners.
The average number of employees (2003) was 1150 for the entire group. Svenska Spel has its head quarter on the island of Gotland situated in the Baltic. Svenska Spel´s mainland office is situated in Sundbyberg of Stockholm.
Sweden's then two largest lottery organisations, AB Tipstjanst and Svenska Penninglotteriet merged in January 1997. The new organisation changed its name to AB Svenska Spel in April 1997. Svenska Spel is a member of ESTLA and a very active member of WLA.
The ESLTA
The ESLTA (European State Lottery and Toto Association) is the European association of State lotteries, toto companies and their operators. It groups State lotteries and toto companies of the EU member states as well as the lotteries of Iceland, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and the FYROM. The ESTLA's members collect 50 billion Euro annually.
The main problem for Svenska Spel is the challenge from foreign Internet operators attracting the punters interested in sports bookmaking. Svenska Spel estimates that more than SEK 1 billion per year is spent in Sweden on gaming on these foreign websites. Another increasing focus is problem gambling. All Svenska staff was provided training and information about matters related to problem gambling.
New features and innovations were introduced at Svenska Spel during the first months of 2003: a new game launch, revamping of services and other innovations.
The new scratch card 'Skrap-Pyramiden,' priced at 30 SEK (3 Euro), was introduced in the beginning of January as an alternative to the other extended play game Skrap-Bingo and has been an immediate success. The tickets that were supposed to last for three months were sold out within four weeks.
As of 2003 more Svenska Spel products are available on the Internet. At the moment players can bet on nine games and the scratch instants can also be bought on their website, that is if one is domiciled in Sweden and is at least 18 years old.
Figures 2003
According to preliminary figures from the Swedish Gaming Board Swedes wagered a gross amount of almost 36 billion SEK (= 3.9 billion Euro) on numbers games, sports betting, horse races, VLTs, bingo and casinos. This was 7% more than in 2002.
The big winner is Svenska Spel, the state lottery, which increased its gross sales by 15.4%. However net sales of 14.5 billion SEK (= 1.6 billion Euro) remained about the same as in 2001. This is due to the fact that more and more players go for games with a higher payout such as VLTs, bookmaking and casinos. The horse-betting company ATG was down by 5% and the biggest NGO-lottery, Folkspel had a decrease of 22%. The Gaming Board has not included bets placed at private foreign bookmakers, which Svenska Spel estimates to be approx. 200 million Euro.
The game with the highest increase was the VLTs, A total of SEK 6.9 billion was wagered on VLT games in 2003, of which nearly SEK 5 billion was returned to the players in the form of prizes.
It is followed by the horse betting game V 75, operated by ATG (395 million Euro) and the scratch ticket Triss, distributed by Svenska Spel (340 million Euro)
Net sales for Casino Cosmopol were 33 million Euro, representing a net market share of 2%
Casino Cosmopol Stockholm.
On March 13 2003 Casino Cosmopol opened the doors for its fourth international casino.
After Sundsvall (June, 2001), Malmo (December 2001) and Gothenburg (August 2002) the turn had finally come to Stockholm. A former exclusive opening night movie theatre that has then been used as a dancing hall, a conference centre and a disco has been carefully and lovingly restored minutely to its former glory. The Palladium building, in the very heart of Stockholm, now offers the visitors gambling at 31 tables (incl. three for just poker) and approx. 300 slot machines on 3,500 square metres four levels. The first spin was made by the deputy Prime Minister Margareta Winberg and the CEO of Svenska Spel, Meg Tivus. The ball very appropriately landed on number 1.
The first two nights there were more than 4 000 visitors to the new casino which requires proper dress, a photo ID and a minimum age of 20 years.
The existing three casinos recorded 473,000 visits in 2002 and had net sales of 304 million SEK (= 34 million Euro), compared to 33 million SEK the preceding year. The net sales represent 2% of the total Swedish gaming market.
The Board Reshuffle
On April 30 2003 after seven years as chairman of the board of Svenska Spel Mr Bengt Ake Berg handed over the gavel to banker Anders Gustafzon of Foreningsbanken.
Before joining the bank as deputy managing director the 59 year old new chairman worked for 16 years in the old Swedish Lottery Gaming Board and once also in bingo halls run by non-profit organisations.
In his first statement he underlined the importance of Svenska Spel for society, especially for sports and other non-profit organisations. "The best way to offer open and fair play in Sweden is to have a regulated market with a state controlled company that can arrange and operate gaming in a responsible way. Moreover I think that we have to take a more active part in the debate on responsible gaming", he said.
Curt Malmborg, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Marianne Samuelsson, representing the Green Party, and Karin Johansson the Christian
Democrats in the Swedish Parliament, replaced the three board veterans Hans Dalborg, Eva Lindstrom and Rose-Marie Frebran.
After the General Meeting the chairman symbolically handed over 4.2 billion SEK (approx. US$400 million) to the representative of the Treasury. The proceeds were up 9% from 2002.
Of the record sum more than 900 million SEK (US$100 million) went to non-governmental organisations, mainly sports federations and clubs.
Lottery Contract and Enterprise Series Video Lottery Central System Contract with GTECH
On the 20th of June Svenska Spel has signed a two-year contract extension with GTECH Corporation for the online lottery products and services. In addition, GTECH Enterprise Series Video lottery central system contract was signed.
GTECH has $1 billion in revenues and 4,200 people in 43 countries provides software, networks, solutions and services in the lottery industry.
"We have had a long and cooperative relationship with Svenska Spel since 1985, and appreciate the opportunity to continue contributing to their success," said GTECH President and CEO W. Bruce Turner. "Our Enterprise Series Video lottery central system contract provides a significant entry for GTECH in the European video lottery marketplace.
Under the contract extension, GTECH will continue providing Svenska Spel with an online lottery central system and services including software maintenance and development through June 30, 2005.
Under the video lottery agreement, GTECH will replace Svenska Spel's existing video lottery central system, currently supplied by another vendor, with the Company's Enterprise Series Video central system, which will monitor the security and integrity of approximately 7,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs) in the network. The new system will also give Svenska Spel the ability to download new games directly from the central system to the VLTs.
In addition, GTECH will provide Svenska Spel with approximately 2,200 Internet protocol (IP)-ready video site controllers. A video site controller is a VLT management device that links the VLTs to the central system, and provides validation of winning receipts and printing of retailer reports. Svenska Spel will also receive video lottery central system software support and software licensing through September 30, 2008. The Company expects the video lottery central system to be operational by November 2003.With respect to its contract extension with Svenska Spel, GTECH anticipates generating revenues of approximately $9 million. The Company also expects approximately $9 million in revenue for the video lottery central system project implementation and approximately $4 million in software support and licensing fees over the life of the contract.
2002 was another record year for Svenska Spel with the sales growth of 14%.
In spite of heavy investment costs for two casinos and new technology and a tougher competition from foreign bookmakers Svenska Spel could increase gross sales by 14% and the net profit for the government and good causes by 9%.
This is even more remarkable since the average prize pay-out to the winners for all Svenska Spels games went up from 54% to 56%.
The total sales for Svenska Spels traditional games - sports betting, numbers games and lotteries - were 1.3 billion Euro (up 2.7%).
Gross sales for the 7 000 VLTs on top of that were 650 million Euro, an increase of 44% compared to 2001.
In the autumn of 2002 Casino Cosmopol, the subsidiary of Svenska Spel, opened its third casino. Casino Cosmopol reported a net income of 34 million Euro compared to 3 million the previous year.
The total income of gaming of the Svenska Spel group reached 1 950 million Euro, which was +14%.
The 17 year old instant ticket Triss maintained its best selling position and could even add another 1% to its sales. Lotto reversed a negative trend of many years and was up by 4% thanks to its new guaranteed 50 million SEK (= 5.4 million EUR) top prize. The big hit however was Keno, which eventually broke the 1 billion SEK barrier (=100 million EUR) and was up 18%
Many new varieties and options as well as successful campaigns led to another year of increase for the biggest sports-betting game Oddset with sales of 185 million EUR (+7%). It is, however, believed that foreign bookmakers reap as much as that over the Internet by attracting Swedish punters with betters odds.
Sales for the 9 games offered by Svenska Spels' website doubled however and now represented almost 3% of the turnover for the traditional games.
A preliminary report indicates that the revenue for the Svenska Spel group was more than 450 million EUR. Almost 100 million of this amount is derived from the VLTs and are handed over to youth activities in non-profit organisations. The rest went to the Treasury.
The growth in sales of 13% in the first half of 2002 was mainly due to the two Video Lottery (VLT) games "Jack Vegas" and "Miss Vegas" which reached the gross sales of 2.7 billion SEK (approx. 300 million Euro), up 37.4% during that period. One reason for this could be the banning of all AWPs and other gaming machines that came into effect on February 1.
Although betting on the World Cup did not fully meet the company's expectations, the Games of Skill still soared by 6.3% in the first half of 2002. The big success in this segment was the multibet oddset game the 'Bomb' that tripled its sales by offering very high odds.
Although Internet sales only made up a fraction of the total turnover; sales trebled compared to 2001 and met the target of 300 million SEK (32 million Euro) at the end of 2002. This is in spite of very tough competition from foreign Internet bookmakers targeting the Swedish market.
As a consequence of the growing competition for the Swedish punters Svenska Spel now also offers singles and doubles on specific betting objects.
In November 2002 Svenska Spel has signed the agreement with the gaming system supplier Boss Media to develop digital scratch cards, lotteries and other quick games - primary for the Internet. The cooperation is to be extended in the future to include other digital channels such as mobile telephones and digital TV.
Boss Media, which supplies systems for digitally-distributed gaming entertainment, has already built Svenska Spel's Internet casino - www.casinocosmopol.se - where players from all over Sweden can try out Roulette, Black Jack and lots of other casino games.
In 2001 Net sales for the Svenska Spel Group increased by slightly more than 11.8% to Euro 1,658.5 million (1,483.9 in 2000). Svenska Spel's profits rose, despite extensive investments for building up Casino Cosmopol, digital TV and Internet venture, to Euro 408.7 million, an increase of Euro 0.8 million. Growth was strongest for the video lottery terminals 'Jack Vegas' and 'Miss Vegas,' for which sales rose by 51%.
The subsidiary Casino Cosmopol, which is in the midst of the comprehensive build-up phase of four international casinos, had 125,809 visitors to the two new casinos and revenues of Euro 3.5 million from casino games. "Higher profits despite extensive investments for the future in the new international casinos and new technologies are proof of the company's strength," said Meg Tivéus, CEO of Svenska Spel. "Video Lottery Terminal sales increased strongly last year. The entire surplus, which was Euro 62 million in 2001, is earmarked for non-governmental organisations," said Meg Tivéus. The average payout for VLT's is 70 percent.
Source: Göran Wessberg, Director International Affairs, Svenska Spel
Number of Employees: 750 (in 2000: 510)
Svenska Spel has bought shares in 'Onside TV-Production AB'
Games of Skill:
Svenska Spel offered six Games of Skill in 2003, for which total sales were SEK 3.7 billion, higher than ever before. The achievement is remarkable considering the increasing number of gaming companies that are offering games of skill adapted for Swedish players. The business unit's success is due to an expanded range of games, heightened presence at major sports events and investments in good service information to the customers.
Svenska Spel offers the following games;
In April 2001 Svenska Spel introduced a new Oddset game: Bomben. This high-odds game is the first game to be launched with agents and at www.svenskaspel.se, at the same time. Lången's receipts increased by 5.6 percent, despite a lack of really big sporting events in 2001 and growing competition from Internet and horse betting with direct broadcasts.
Games of Skill share of Svenska Spel's receipts is 23.2 %.
Games of Chance
The Games of Chance are:
Number Games:
Lotteries:
For more information on the Viking Lotto, see the Novamedia file on the Viking Lotto.
Changes affecting the Games of Chance products in 2001;
Games of Chance share of Svenska Spel's receipts is 50.0%
Proceeds: National Treasury (But the proceeds from the VLT's are going to youth activities of non-profit organisations.)
Jurisdiction: Sweden
The year 2000 and 2001 was one of intensive preparation and build-up for Svenka Spel's Casino Cosmopol. Efforts were mainly oriented toward finding suitable premises in the four cities chosen by the government for the first casinos, deciding on and procuring gaming machines and forms of gaming, recruiting personnel for the head office and the casino in Sundsvall. The most important task was to build up the entire concept for Casino Cosmopol and to formulate guide-lines for operating the business.
Svenska Spel is the first state lottery in Europe that includes all kinds of games in its portfolio with a range of scratch tickets, numbers games, sports betting, Internet gambling, VLT's and now also casinos. Since the casinos are so special, Svenska Spel has formed a special daughter company, Casino Cosmopol. For this business area however it is integrated into the mother company. On June 30, 2001 Svenska Spels' CEO Meg Tivéus inaugurated Sweden's first genuine casino in 160 years. She opened the first (a restored old railway station in Sundsvall) of four Casino Cosmopol entertainment venues. In addition to Sundsvall the casinos are in Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. The Malmö casino (a restaurant in a centrally located park, once intended as a casino!) opened its doors in December 2001.
During its first year Casino Cosmopol in Sundsvall has received more than 150 000 visitors, which was far more than expected. However, the number has gone down slightly in the first half of 2002 and the casino started adapting to the gambling behaviour of its clients by reducing its opening hours. In the first half of 2002 the two casinos in Sundsvall and Malmö have yielded an income of 100 million SEK (11 million Euro).
The third casino was opened on the 3rd of September 2003 in the second biggest city of Sweden Gothenburg with the population of 600 000 people and proved already to be a roaring success, registering more visitors than expected. Casino Cosmopol has estimated 300,000 visitors annually to play Roulette, Black Jack, The Big Wheel, Punto Banco, Caribbean Stud Poker and Sic Bo on the 26 tables or try the 204 slots in a former Customs Shed in the Gothenburg Harbour.
The 14th of March 2003 was the date of the opening of the fourth casino in Sweden - in Stockholm which is the first casino in Stockholm since 1912 and the largest of the casinos of Svenska Spel with 31 tables and more than 300 slots and a public area for admission to the casino is 20 and all of 3 500 square metres. patrons will be photographed.
Officials at Casino Cosmopol expect about half a million people to visit the casino in the first year of operations. Housed in a former movie theatre in the centre of the city, the casino offers more than 300 gaming machines, as well as roulette, Black Jack and Caribbean Stud Poker tables, entertainment and food. The last time people were able to gamble in the Stockholm region was in 1912, at a casino located in Nynaeshamn, a seaside town some 60 kilometres south of Stockholm. Swedes are fond of betting and gambling. In 2001, the gaming and lottery industry in the Scandinavian country registered sales of 34 billion kronor ($3.7 billion Euro) or 3,777 kronor (411 Euro) per capita.
Casino revenues for the financial year 2003 were SEK 720 million and thus the casino business could show a profit of SEK 167 million after only two years. Net profits are expected to increase further in 2004, which will be the first full financial year for the casinos.
The parliament has decided that there should be a maximum of 6 casinos in Sweden. The Government will evaluate the results of the first four before deciding where to locate the last two. In time Casino Cosmopol, a subsidiary of Svenska Spel, will provide some 850 new jobs (in 2001 Casino Cosmopol employs already 400 persons) and generate between SEK 200 million and SEK 400 million annually in government revenue. The minimum age
Casino Cosmopol signed a five-year consultancy agreement with the Dutch state-owned company Holland Casino (www.hollandcasino.nl). That company has 24 years of experience starting and running state-owned international casinos.
Internet gaming is experiencing explosive growth and svenskaspel.se is growing the most. More than 250,000 active players and sales of nearly one half billion kronor mean that svenskaspel.se is now firmly established. The success is attributable to an active marketing campaign combined with the launch of digital scratch cards.
Online gaming on svenskaspel.se was available back in 1999, but Svenska Spel did not actively market the channel until 2003. (Back then it had less then 50.000 players.) The results of the marketing campaign were not long in coming. Visitor impressions on the site tripled to about 600,000 a month and more than 100,000 new gaming accounts were registered in a very short time. Svenska Spel now has two equivalent sales channels. Customers find essentially the same games at their agents as on svenskaspel.se, which allows players to choose the channel that best fits their needs. Svenska Spel offers a unique breadth of gaming products on the Internet.
Scratch cards were the last piece of the puzzle missing from the range. Few gaming companies had previously launched digital scratch cards. Svenska Spel chose to do so with established brands like Triss, Tia, Skrap-Bingo and Skrap-Pyramid. They were an immediate success. When the competition is focusing almost exclusively on betting, Svenska Spel can offer - in addition to betting games - number games, tips, scratch cards and bingo. That gives the company a clear competitive edge.
In 2003, svenskaspel.se grew by 65%, more than any other online gaming site. Of estimated gross sales, svenskaspel.se has 18% of the digital Swedish market. If one looks at net figures instead, which provide a more true and fair picture, the market share is 35%, which means that svenskaspel.se is actually bigger than all foreign companies combined and far larger than ATG's online gaming service, Interbet.
Information Svenska Spel:
VLT's
The first Video Lottery Terminals (VLT's) were introduced in Swedish restaurants in 1996 and are called Jack Vegas. Since October 1st, 1999, VLT games are also installed in bingo halls, where they are called Miss Vegas. Las Vegas has since it's launch been the fastest growing game in the Swedish gaming market and became the single largest game in Sweden in 2001. This meant a record surplus that together with the profits from the local bingo associations operating Miss Vegas amounted to over 580 MSEK.
All profits of the VLT games are allocated to the non-profit organisations. The games may only operate in locations where an age limit control can be guaranteed, such as in restaurants with a liquor license and bingo halls. All terminals are connected to a central computer system at Svenska Spel for the control of a secure gaming operation.
The total receipts from Jack & Miss Vegas amounted to 4,177 MSEK. Of the total 3,745 MSEK came from Miss Vegas.
Number of VLT's by the end of the year 2001:
Göran Wessberg, Director International Affairs explains the market postition of Svenska as follows: "I suppose that when it comes to services offered Svenska Spel would rank number 1 among the lotteries in WLA. Last year we started with focus groups among Internet players, we were awarded the top prize for the best website in Sweden and we have just launched a very special and already popular chat service.
"Last year we also opened our two first casinos and the top selling game in Sweden is now our VLT games Jack Vegas and Miss Vegas. Why are we so active and progressive when it comes to gaming and gambling? I don't know the answer, but just at the beginning of 2002 we opened the first gaming development training in the world at university level at the University College of Gotland. The Gotland Art and Media Education (GAME) is operated in cooperation with the Interactive Institute and is sponsored by Svenska Spel. There are 40 students enrolled for the first 4-year academic course."
Website: www.atg.se
Year Lottery Founded: April 1973.
AB Trav och Galopp, ATG, is the Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board and aims to provide a combination of world-class sport and entertaining, exciting betting. The best-known product is V75, which is the largest single bet type in Sweden. ATG offers country, via 2,050 agencies throughout Sweden and via ATG.se on Internet.
Three main parties which ATG has to satisfy are:
In 2001 the turnover amounted to SEK 10.7 billion. Of this sum, SEK 1.2 billion accrued to the state in the form of betting and lotteries tax, 7.4 billion was returned to customers in the form of dividend payments, while the surplus, of approximately 1.3 billion, was channelled into Swedish trotting and thoroughbred racing in the aim of ensuring positive development and favorable geographical distribution. ATG is owned by the Swedish Trotting Association, STC, (90%) and the Swedish Jockey Club (10%). Of the twelve directors who make up the board the state appoints six, one of these being the Chairman.
The state's representation on the board provides the Ministry of Finance with complete insight into the company's business, thus ensuring that the development of horse racing sport remains a high priority and that the business is run in a manner which conforms with the framework laid down by the state.
| 2001 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Totalisator turnover | 10,679.7 | 10,501.6 |
| Profit/loss beforeallocations | 2,539.3 | 2,493.5 |
| Allocations to horse racing | 1,349.2 | 1,323.6 |
| Tax and obligations to the state | 1,207.1 | 1,181.3 |
| Profit/loss for the year | -17.0 | -11.4 |
| Funds to active horse racing participants | ||
| Total, incl. race tracks | 846.3 | 822.8 |
| Of which direct from ATG | 306.4 | 290.7 |
| Number of days of racing | 1,017 | 1,014 |
| Betting turnover ATG Channels in SEK M | ||
| Agency | 8,238 | 8,121 |
| On-Track | 1,956 | 2,035 |
| e-Customer | 486 | 346 |
Total Betting Turnover
Betting on horse racing increased by 1.7 per cent to SEK 10.7 billion. This new record means that ATG's earnings for 2001, before allocations to the sport of horse racing and the Swedish state, were approximately SEK 2.5 billion. The amount of money allocated to the sport increased by over SEK 25 million and amounted in total for the year to SEK 1.35 billion. The money due to the state increased by SEK 30 million with the total paid in 2001 amounting to SEK 1.2 billion.
ATG's largest betting category, V75 had a turnover of SEK 3.6 billion which is on a pair with the figure for 2000 despite the fact that in 2001 there was one fewer round of V75 betting.
On 9 January 2001 ATG introduced a new betting category called Trifecta. Turnover for the year amounted to SEK 942 million. International activities expanded. The year saw the inauguration of betting in Denmark into ATG's V75 pool for the 'Olympic Trot' meeting.
Four agents began operations on the Åland Islands. V75 bets placed in Denmark and the Åland Islands amounted to SEK 49.3 million in 2001. International betting in the form of bets placed in Sweden, in joint and local pools, on meetings in other countries increased by 19 per cent to SEK 36.7 million. Bets placed in other countries into Betting Turnover, ATG Channels joint and local pools in Sweden increased from SEK 33.2 million in 2000 to SEK 229 million in 2001. ATG betting via Internet and the ATG.se platform saw vigorous growth: turnover rose by over 40 per cent to SEK 486 million.
The conditions applying to the V64 betting category were changed. Dividends for four or five correct forecasts which would amount to less than ten kronor are carried over to the next pool above in the current round and the level of difficulty has been increased by means of changes to horses' entry conditions. A jackpot only accrues if no customer correctly forecasts six winners.
A new agreement was concluded between the horse racing authorities and the Swedish state. The provisions of this agreement include:
Betting products:
Launched: 1993.
Launched: 1999.
Launched: 2000.
Launched: 1994.
Launched: 1987.
Launched: 2001.
2001 also saw the introduction of
Launched: 1993
ATG's organizational structure consists of three units and this structure reflects the character and purpose of the company:'s operations. The business activities are grouped into four business areas with these divisions reflecting the different channels via which the customers are reached:
The Organization of Horse Racing
ATG's mission is to ensure that trotting and thoroughbred racing in Sweden is carried on in such a way that the requirements for the long term development of the sport are met in a manner that corresponds to the framework laid down by the Swedish state. In order to achieve this ATG is required to work together with the national associations and the regional associations responsible for arranging race meetings. ATG organises both on-track betting which is regulated in contractual agreements with the race tracks and off-track betting.
The areas in which ATG is a decisionmaking body are:
ATG dictates, with regard to all categories of betting, the betting regulations to be applied. These regulations must receive the approval of the National Gaming Board.
ATG is required to collaborate with the race tracks with regard to their budgets, both in order to ensure that ATG receives sufficient information to enable it to make decisions concerning the distribution of resources and in order to ensure that ATG can carry out the evaluation of the respective tracks financial situation which it is required to do under the terms of the totalisator betting license issued by the government.
Overview 2001: Dividends
In the course of 2001 a total of SEK 7,405.2 million was paid out in the form of dividends. This means that over the last five years dividend payments have risen by over SEK 1.0 billion. Dividend payments in 2001 accounted for 69.3 per cent of turnover.
The Swedish State
Totalisator tax and the contractual obligation to the state, which together accounted for SEK 1,207.1 million, increased by SEK 25.8 million in 2001 and now represent 11.3 per cent of turnover.
Horse Racing
The funds paid to the horse racing world during 2001 can be divided into three main categories:
ATG
ATG net costs for the year amounted to SEK 735.2 million and consisted primarily of costs for agents, IT, administration and marketing. Since ATG has maintained a relatively high level of investment over recent years, the capital costs for the company in 2001 amounted to SEK 127.6 million which represents 17.4 per cent of ATG total volume of costs. ATG costs also include net costs for the horse clinics. In addition, there are the costs of funding for equine research, general overhead costs, the administration and training of veterinarians and costs for race officials and grooms. ATG also conducted a trial of betting via WAP telephones in collaboration with Ericsson and Telia. Since April 2000 Danish customers have been able to place bets directly into the V75 pool. This is a positive development for Danish horse racing and represents one way for ATG to strengthen its position in international competition. It has been a couple of years since ATG's betting system was installed at DanToto.
Targeted at its existing Internet betting demographic - mainly men between 20 and 35 - the service allows players to use their WAP phones to place bets on coming races. Ericsson has been supplying infrastructure and consultancy services to ATG since the trial began in 1999. Users start by opening an ATG account and paying a sum into it that acts as a pool from which betting funds are drawn. Users can then access ATG's Internet site via their WAP phone and select what they want to bet on. Winnings are paid directly into the player's personal ATG account. With security being a major concern, access to the service is via an encrypted login procedure and users have to be Swedish residents, over 18 with a clean credit rating.
The recent successes on the Internet clearly show that gaming behaviour is changing in certain customer groups. New technology is offering opportunities to respond better to new needs. As one of the first gaming companies in the world to do so, Svenska Spel carried out a pilot project with gaming via mobile phone in 2003. The first game was registered in June 2003.
As a spectator or television viewer in connection with selected sports events, customers have access to their gaming accounts via their mobile phone. Game alternatives and odds are presented in the arena or on the television screen. Sales thus far are modest but may become very substantial in future :- and Svenska Spel will have been there from the beginning.
Folkspel is a joint organisation run by and for voluntary associations and clubs which arranges, among others, the BingoLotto game. It saw in 2000 a slight decrease in turnover, but its largest product, BingoLotto, recorded an increase in turnover of 1 percent after a number of years of falling figures. Other lotteries run for the benefit of voluntary associations and clubs, including bingo saw, an overall drop in turnover.
Website: www.bingolotto.se
Novamedia Sweden is the operator of BingoLotto, the country's largest charity lottery. BingoLotto thrives on Sweden's highly active world of sports clubs and associations. In a market in which spending on betting per capita is three times higher than the European average, BingoLotto has developed in the past decade as a national institution. Half of the Swedish population participates in BingoLotto on a regular basis. BingoLotto has been licensed by Folkrorelsernas Samarbetsorgan for Lotteri-Fragor (FSL), a group of 74 non-profit organisations.
Distribution and Revenues
Some 250,000 club members sell the bulk of BingoLotto's tickets each week. An estimated 20 percent of all tickets are distributed through commercial outlets. BingoLotto reached a 239 million euro turnover in 2003. The Lottery has become crucial to the existence of ticket selling clubs and associations, receiving almost 40 percent of the total revenue. Since the start more than 1,2 billion euros has been raised for charity. Forty-six percent of the turnover is prize money.
TV Show
BingoLotto's weekly television show, broadcast on TV4 on Saturday prime time, attracts on average 1.4 million viewers and has a market share of approximately 40 percent. The show airs 40 weeks a year, taking a summer break when most sports clubs are on holiday. To fill the gap a separate summer television program has been developed which will be broadcast in eight of the twelve summer weeks. The show is recorded in Novamedia's own state of the art TV studio based in Goteborg. In 2003 Novamedia has introduced two new TV programs to support BingoLotto.
For more information regarding the see the attachment file on the BingoLotto (28 pages, pdf format) by Göran Bolin, Associate Professor, Media and Communication Studies, Södertälje Högskola - University College.
In April 2001 Dutch Novamedia (www.novamedia.nl), the operator of both the Dutch National Postcode Lottery (www.postcodeloterij.nl) and the Dutch SponsorBingo Lottery (www.sponsorbingo-loterij.nl), took over Swedish IGS Bingo-Lotto Sweden AB. Bingo-Lotto Sweden employs 80 people, according to IGS spokesman Per Ericsson. The two parties involved have not disclosed the exact price for the takeover. However, news media in Sweden mentioned the amount of US$10 Million.
BingoLotto was founded on October 19th, 1991 and has been licensed by Folkroreelsernas Samarbetsorgan for Lotteri-fragor (FSL), the Lottery foundation established by some 74 non-profit organisations.
Turnover in:
Novamedia Sweden also operates minor lotteries in Sweden:
There are two other lotteries called Sanka Skepp and Idrottslotten, there are also plans to start a Postkod Lottery next to the BingoLotto. In 2004 Novamedia received a license to start Postkod Lottery.
The total turnover of all products together (Bingolotten, Dubbellotten, Julkalendern, Fargfemman, Sanka Skepp) for 2002 reached 2,947,000,000 SEK or Euro 321,247,929.
The product Sanka Skepp that was started at the end of August accumulated the turnover 30,000,000 SEK or Euro 3,270,254.
Proceeds that has gone directly to clubs and associations from Bingolotten and Dubbellotten reached in spring 564,000,000 SEK or Euro 61,480,771; and in autumn - 400,000,000 SEK or Euro 43,603,384 (according to the latest estimations).
Website: www.unibet.com
Operating from Malta, Unibet takes sporting bets over Internet and by telephone. The Company is part of an international group with the parent company based in the UK. The group also has a gaming license in the UK. Anders Ström founded Unibet in 1997 with the objective to build up a betting company that could compete with the already established, big state monopolies and the private companies. By cutting the distribution costs like the commissions for the state monopoly agents and the high taxes Unibet states that they offer its customers substantially better conditions. Unibet is offering single bets on their entire offerings and 93% of the turnover goes back to the customers in winnings.
Short list of facts
Website: www.expekt.com
It is an Internet sports betting operator. Expekt.com is a bookmaker licensed in Malta, which means that the Gaming Board for Malta and subject to Maltese laws and regulations monitors their business. The company group of Expekt.com also has a betting license in the United Kingdom. This betting operator is managed and partly owned by the Swede Christian Haupt.
This sportsbetting operator is owned by the Swede Peter Andersson and based since more than 10 years in London. They are especially targeting the Scandinavian betting market.
Cherry is a privately owned Swedish gaming company with more than 2.600 shareholders. The company's shares are listed on Stockholm Exchange O-list (CHERB). Operations focus on Internet-, casino- and slot machine gaming. The main activities are conducted at restaurants in Sweden, onboard cruising- and passenger ships with services within Northern Europe and at Internet casinos on a global market. Cherry employs more than 600 people.
Annual reports of Cherryföretagen AB can be found on their webpage. Or by clicking here http://www.cherry.se/finans/index.htm
Website: http:// www.bossmedia.se
The principal activity of Boss Media AB (quoted on the Stockholm Exchange O-list: Attract 40), is the development, marketing and licensing of software for Internet gaming .The company supplies the market with licensed software containing client-server system and java (browser based), integrated payment system and the maintenance and administration services. The wholly owned subsidiary, Boss Casinos, owned the license for an online casino, Gold Club Casino. Which was sold in the first quarter of 2004.
It also has a 35% interest in EssNet Interactive AB.
Software accounted for 58 percent of 2000 revenues; Gold Club Casino, 29 percent; service and support, 12 percent and other, 1 percent.
During the first quarter Boss Media signed its first agreement within mobile gambling. The Swedish state-owned lottery company Svenska Spel and Boss Media will now be offering mobile gambling to the Swedish market
Boss Media has signed on March 4th, 2002 a contract with the largest Internet sportsbook in the world, Sportingbet.com PLC (www.sportingbet.com). Sportingbet is a global online and telephone sports betting and casino company with approximately 450,000 customers. The Group offers a comprehensive range of bets on a variety of international sports and bets in 23 countries. Boss Media will deliver an Internet casino with Mandarin and Cantonese language versions. Sportingbet will use its own payment system, which is going to make it very easy for players at Sportingbet to use the same account when they play at the Internet casino.
Sportingbet is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange. Sportingbet became the largest Internet sportsbook in the world with its acquisition of the company SportsBook and its major Internet brands; sportsbook.com, wallstreet.com and playersonly.com. The company has its operations in Alderney and in Costa Rica. The main focus of Sportingbet's global marketing strategy has been to build brand awareness in identified markets, North America, the Far East, Europe and Australia.
The Boss Media Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of digitally distributed gaming systems. Potential licensees are offered a customized client-server system, an integrated payment system, and the maintenance and administration services necessary for the successful operation of the licensed system.
The Group Boss Media AB (publ) is one of the world's leading suppliers of systems for digitally distributed gaming entertainment. Boss Media develops gaming solutions for distribution channels such as PC's, video lottery terminal systems, mobile phones and digital TV. Licensees are offered a customized gaming system, an integrated payment system as well as related services. The Boss Media-share is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's O-list.
For more financial data on Boss Media AB please check their annual report for the year 2003 (web version http://investors.bossmedia.se/annual2003en/) or their page for investors http://investors.bossmedia.se
The leading European supplier of total solutions to on-line lotteries worldwide, operating games like Lotto, Keno, Oddset and other types of sports betting games. Customers are principally government owned or sponsored national or regional lotteries. EssNet's on-line lottery system ELOS has now been installed at 18 lotteries, including several regional lotteries in Germany, as well as in Australia, Argentina, Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Latvia, Israel and the UK.
In autumn 2002 EssNet signed the new contracts to supply new ELOS central system hardware and to update the current software with the national lottery in Hungary; to deliver an on-line lottery system to ITSPL, a Modi Enterprises in India; to provide new lottery terminals to the national lottery in Norway Norsk Tipping; to implement Internet and mobile gaming system in Chech Republic national lottery Sazka; to deliver 400 terminals to Israel Sports Betting Board and expand their terminal network. On the 11th of November 2002 EssNet entered into a partnership with IBM, the world's largest supplier of retail point of sale (POS) equipment. Standard IBM retail peripherals and modules can now be added to EssNet's lottery system via standard and open interfaces to enhance both player and retailer options and services. EssNet's ELOS terminals are certified now on a variety of IBM terminals. Lotteries with the fixed number of retailers can thus tailor cost-effective solutions for particular segments while allowing these retailers to sell the full suite of the Lottery's product line.
On April 8, 2002 Danske Venture Partners and IT Provider together with existing shareholders signed the agreement to invest a total of SEK 142.3 million (Euro 15.6 million) in EssNet. "This is probably the biggest investment in an unlisted company in Sweden this year which shows great confidence in EssNet's growth potential," says Hans Vigmostad, CEO & President of EssNet.
EssNet turnover for the year 2001 increased by more than 82% to SEK 388 million (Euro 43 million) compared to SEK 213 million (Euro 23 million) in 2000. EssNet made a profit before tax of SEK 10.3 million (Euro 1.1 million) in 2001. EssNet used London-based Eagle One Capital Limited (www.eagleonecapital.com) as a corporate finance advisor.
In 2001 EssNet Interactive AB was established to focus in the development of electronic sales channels such as Internet, mobile telephony and interactive TV. As of June 2002 the Managing Director of EssNet Interactive is the former Vice President of IT Development of Svenska Spel Ralph Gelfgren.
In August 2002 EssNet entered into a cooperation agreement with a Swedish technical consulting group AF Group to develop and maintain the hardware platforms for EssNet's terminal products which are a central part of EssNet's product portfolio, used by lotteries worldwide.
Website: www.danskebank.com
Danske Venture Partners are a subsidiary of Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark. As a venture capital advisory firm Danske Venture Partners are focusing on IT and telecommunications companies in the Nordic countries with large growth potential for the future.
IT Provider is a leading Nordic venture capital firm focusing on early and expansion-stage investments in the Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) sector throughout the Nordic region, primarily Sweden and Finland.
Solna Leisure AB has been serving the casino and leisure industry since 1992. They specialise in providing management and consulting services. Solna Leisure is currently actively involved in projects around the world in Eastern Europe, Russia, South America and Africa.
Ericsson is the world's leading supplier in telecommunications with the largest customer base including the world's top 10 operators. Ericsson provides total solutions covering everything from systems and applications to mobile phones and other communications tools. Mobile betting is one of the activities of Ericsson.
Ericsson Series A and Series B shares are traded on the Stockholm stock exchange, Stockholmsbörsen. Stockholmsbörsen changed the Ericsson ticker on September 10, 2001 from LME A and LME B to ERIC A and ERIC B. The Series B shares are also traded on the exchanges in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London and Paris, and on the 'Swiss Exchange' in Switzerland. Ericsson shares are also traded in the United States in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADR) on NASDAQ, under the symbol ERICY. Each ADR represents one Series B share.
Ericsson shares have been traded in euros in Frankfurt and Paris since January 1, 1999. More than 36 billion shares were traded in 2001. Of this number about 59 (44) percent were traded on Stockholmsbörsen, 13.5 (31) percent on NASDAQ and 26.5 (24) percent on the London Stock Exchange. Trading on other exchanges amounted to about 1 percent of the total unchanged from the previous year.
The total market value of the Ericsson share dropped 46 percent in 2001 to SEK 460 billion. Stockholmsbörsen's OMX index decreased by nearly 20 percent during that year. The NASDAQ composite index decreased by 21 percent and the NASDAQ telecom index decreased by 49 percent in the same period. The Ericsson share decreased by 53 percent on NASDAQ. The difference to the development on Stockholmsbörsen is mainly attributed to currency changes SEK/USD.
In all about 85 (90) percent of Ericsson's shares are owned by Swedish and international institutions. At the end of 2001 about 52 (44.7) percent of the shares were held in Sweden. 25.4 (28.9) percent of the share were held in the US, 4.7 (5.2) percent in the UK, 4.5 (5.0) percent in Luxembourg, 3.3 (2.5) percent in Switzerland, 3.0 (4.1) percent in Germany and about 7.1 (9.6) percent in other countries.
QLot is a Swedish corporation with offices in Europe and in North America. The Group was established in 1998 and has rapidly become one of the leading international lottery consulting companies, providing supplier-independent consulting to lotteries, governments, investors and lottery suppliers worldwide. QLot currently has clients on four continents, where business analysis, lottery start-ups, technology procurement and staff search have been some of the main activities.
The 'anytime, anywhere-capacity' of mobile communications is going to revolutionize the gambling sector. In the highly competitive gambling industry virtually all of the major established betting organizations already have online betting facilities. The potential exists to place bets on anything, from sports events to political developments and weather reports as well as dedicated games of chance. Datamonitor has forecast that the worldwide Internet betting market will be worth USD 4.9 billion by 2004.
There is significant existing technology uptake from consumers with players already familiar with placing bets by telephone and over Internet. This makes the introduction of mobile gambling services not so much a case of developing new markets but penetrating further into an existing one.
For consumers mobile gambling offers a simpler, cheaper way to place bets from any location at any time. They no longer have to travel to a betting shop nor do they have to pay the service costs associated with placing a bet in a shop. The technology also facilitates last minute or 'impulse' bets even as customers are walking into a sports stadium.
For service providers mobile gambling provides a dynamic new customer channel that doesn't conflict with their existing 'bricks-and-mortar' business. Casino-style games such as blackjack and roulette delivered to mobiles is another area of potential, an individual country legislation permitting.
Swedish company ATG launched a complete WAP-based gaming service in December 2000 for a limited amount of customers and they are now in the final stages of their trial. A full-scale launch is due this year. The company has an existing Internet betting service that is comprised of 3.2 percent of its total revenues - over USD 36 million in 2000, a figure that's expected to rise to 5 percent this year.