Anfang Mai verlautbarte die Svenska Spel, dass sie möglicherweise ihr Monopol in gewissen Bereichen des Glücksspiels aufheben würde – darauf reagiert nun Betsson mit einer provokanten Geschäftsidee. Laut der schwedischen Online-Zeitung „TheLocal" will Schweden einen Teil seines Glücksspielmonopols privatisieren. Schon Anfang Mai hat die Tageszeitung „Dagens Nyheter" geschrieben, dass die Gelder, die über eine Privatisierung dem Staat zufließen würden, für kulturelle, sportliche und karitative Zwecke eingesetzt würden.

Sweden’s state-owned gambling monopoly faces an unprecedented challenge this week that could open up the Nordic country’s lucrative betting industry to international competition. Swedish online gambling company Betsson will open a high street betting shop in Stockholm on Friday, deliberately breaching laws which state all bookmakers must be run by Svenska Spel, the state monopoly.

Swedish prosecutors have been advised to halt cases against media organizations accepting ads from foreign online gambling companies. Many online poker operators may now decide to begin advertising in Sweden, competing openly with state-supoprted Svenska Spel. The order came from UC Malmo, a department of Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, according to reports by Gaming Intelligence Group.

Sweden’s state-owned gambling monopoly, Svenska Spel, has been forbidden from expanding its net-poker services - for the time being at least. The Swedish government rejected its request to expand its existing license to organize and distribute net-poker services. Instead, the government asked Svenska Spel to devote more time to an internal, ongoing investigation into the existing license, which is now due on June 30th 2008.

The Swedish media earned USD 103.7 million from publishing gambling ads in 2006, despite it being technically illegal in the country. Sweden’s chief legal counsel at the Gaming Board said that it ’hardly felt worthwhile’ reporting cases when nothing happened. Commenting on the results, Hakan Hallstedt, Sweden’s chief legal counsel at the Gaming Board, said that it ’hardly felt worthwhile’ reporting cases when nothing happened.

Sweden gaming company Svenska Spel, which offers sportsbook, lottery site, poker room, casino site and bingo room, announced that it has subscribed to intelligent software that claims to minimise gambling addiction. The system, created by Sweden’s ICU Intelligence, analyses the betting habits of each player, how much money they place on bets, the conditions under which they bet and the frequency with which they wager their money.