Published yesterday (12 March), an ATG-led report covering illegal gambling activity during Q4 in Sweden reported online channelisation was between 69% and 82% during the period.
This is some way below the government’s long-term target of 90%, set in 2019, when the country opened its regulated online gambling market.
Q4 figures are only marginally better than the 70% and 82% range reported by ATG for Q3.
Unlicensed website traffic up tenfold since 2019
Setting out its findings for Q4, ATG said its data suggests traffic to unlicensed sites in Sweden has increased tenfold since regulation in 2019.
As was the case in Q3, channelisation for online casino was much lower than the rate for sports betting. ATG placed casino channelisation at between 59% and 74%, while sports betting was in a range of 79% to 88%.
The operator uses web analytics tools to track web traffic within Sweden to licensed and unlicensed gambling companies.
It said this is carried out continuously and reported quarterly. “The degree of channelisation is measured based on actual web traffic and assumptions about spending per visit based on a range of sources.”
It found 17 of the 20 largest unlicensed gambling sites use platform providers also used by licensed operators. This should not be possible under current regulations in Sweden, ATG said.
ATG also noted six of these websites offered direct deposits and withdrawals from Swedish bank accounts via BankID, a digital identification system in Sweden which enables players to instantly access their bank account.
In addition, two of the top 20 were on Spelinspektionen’s banned list of unlicensed operators.
Unlicensed site Luckyjungle.com, which only entered Sweden in Q3 2023, drew the most traffic during Q4. In total, 147,284 visits were reported for the period. “This site’s traffic has gone from zero to almost 150,000 visits in one year,” the report said
Unlimitcasino.com ranked next with 113,002 visits during the quarter, but this has been on the decline since Q2 last year. Refuelcasino.com, the third most popular site, drew 94,456, lower than Q3.
Completing the top five were Ibet.com and GG.bet, both of which saw visitor numbers rise in Q4.
Long-term trends suggest the channelisation rate is decreasing as unlicensed site visits per quarter have increased over time.
ATG blasts “unreasonable” channelisation rate
Commenting on the findings, ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth reiterated the group’s desire to address the issue. He said the group would continue battle against unlicensed sites until licensees have a monopoly on the Swedish market.
“It is unreasonable that such a large proportion of gambling still takes place outside the licence system,” Skarplöth said. “Unlicensed gambling is a breeding ground for money laundering. But above all, Swedish players are left without protection from rogue actors.
“Therefore, ATG will do what we can to help ensure that the fight against the unlicensed gaming companies continues day by day, month by month and until the licensed companies have a monopoly on gaming in Sweden.”
Last month Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary general for the Swedish gambling trade body BOS, said the government’s ongoing review of gambling regulations will be unlikely to solve the issue of a dropping channelisation rate in the country.
Speaking to iGB, he described the Gambling Act review as “another repressive measure” by the government.
“What is even more important is liberalising the licensed market to make it more attractive to consumers,” he said.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/atg-swedish-channelisation-rate/
