Closure Of Land-Based Casinos In Sweden Will Impact Poker Players

In late January, the state-owned gambling company Svenska Spel announced the closure of its land-based casinos in Malmö and Gothenburg, Sweden. This is an ongoing trend since the regulation came into effect in early 2019, as more players tend to play online, where revenue is stagnating at land-based casinos.

This affects employees, where over 100 employees have been terminated, but also several physical poker tournaments, as Svenska Spel was the only operator in the country arranging them. Players from Sweden that wants to participate in poker tournaments can only do so at a Swedish regulated casino or go abroad to play on international tournaments.

The Trend For Online Poker Is Growing

The ongoing trend in Sweden is moving more towards gambling online, and Poker is one of the fastest growing. In 2018 it was reported by Folkhälsomyndigheten that 36% of the participants played online, compared to 2021 where a whole 53% of participants played online.

This is one of the reasons why the land-based casinos of the state-owned Svenska Spel are closing, focusing more on delivering a better product and following the trend of its players.

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