Swedish government agrees to reduce state influence over ATG
Government will no longer be able to nominate board members as part of “natural continuation” of Sweden’s gambling market since reregulation in 2019
The Swedish government has agreed to reduce its influence over horseracing operator ATG after determining its domain was “no longer justified”.
When ATG was formed back in 1974, it was given the exclusive rights to horseracing and trotting betting.
This was repealed when Sweden’s market reregulated in 2019. But, the Swedish state has since then still been able to exert a level of control over the company.
However, the government and ATG have today, 10 April, entered into a new agreement which will see the state’s influence over ATG reduce dramatically.
As such, the government will no longer be able to nominate members to the ATG board. Under the previous arrangement, the government could nominate six of the 11 board members.
The majority of the board members must also be independent, with changes having been made to the nomination committee’s requirements.
Additionally, ATG’s articles of association can now be changed without the government’s approval.
Furthermore, ATG will no longer be in danger of being liquidated should there be no ongoing agreement with the Swedish state.
An increase in payments to the National Foundation for the Horse Industry has also been agreed, while plans are being drawn up to lock in the foundation’s viability and position in the future.
The government said the reduction in the state’s control over ATG was a “natural continuation of the reregulation of the gambling market”.
ATG has yet to release a comment on the new agreement, at the time of writing. The news was confirmed in a government press release.
Niklas Wykman, minister for financial markets, said: “It is no longer justified for the state to be involved in the way it has been in the past.
“With the new agreement, the company will have full responsibility for the operations. It provides the opportunity to recruit a board that can develop the company in a good way, increase professionalism and strengthen Swedish equestrian sports for the future.”
Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt told EGR the trade body welcomed the move.
He said: “We welcome this agreement between the government and ATG’s owners. ATG is a privately owned company and it has of course been a strange construction that the government has appointed the majority of the board and the chairman of a private company in a competitive market.
The government’s press release states that the government is ‘reducing’ its control over ATG, but it is more difficult to interpret whether the government is completely leaving ATG.
“If there are any remaining special agreements between the government and ATG that do not apply to other gambling companies in the Swedish gambling market, it is of course our opinion that these should also be phased out.”