Analysis: The benefits of multiple Swedish licences
Why has Cherry applied for eight Swedish licences when firms like Kindred and GVC have only applied for one?
The Swedish regulator announced this week it had received 55 licence applications for the upcoming re-regulation of the market. The list of applicants contained the usual suspects including bet365, Betsson, 888, Kindred and LeoVegas.
However Cherry stood out, with the firm having applied for eight licences in total via its various subsidiaries and brands.
With an online licence for betting and casino costing SEK 700,000 (€67,000), the operator must see some real benefit in holding multiple licences.
A Cherry spokesperson told EGR the multiple licence plan was “in line with its multi-brand strategy” and would enable the operator to be “agile and market its different brands to different customer segments”.
Of course, firms can market multiple brands from one licence – Kindred and GVC, for example, appear to have only lodged one application – so what advantages does having several offer?
Swedish analyst Redeye suggested the approach will help Cherry recycle churned players with new bonus offerings for different brands, since operators are only allowed to offer one bonus (a welcome bonus) to each player.
Another Swedish analyst, speaking off the record, told EGR: “I do know that a couple of operators are looking into using multiple licences to either dodge the bonus limitations or simplify their responsible gambling obligations across brands.”
Specifically, multiple licences would help RG because licence holders are required to track customers across brands – including proactive direct contact – so if they run the brands on different platforms it can get quite complicated from a technical perspective.
In the UK, for example, 888 was fined after it sent marketing messages to customers on its bingo platform, who had self-excluded from the main platform.
“Having separate licences would also separate the customer databases and the tracking would not have to be done across the platforms,” the analyst said.
It also worth noting there appears to be some confusion in the market – several operators contacted by EGR said you needed a license for each brand, while sources also criticised poor communication and a lack of clarity from the regulator.
A Lotterinspektionen spokesperson confirmed there is no limit on how many brands can be run from one licence.