ATG report estimates Sweden’s “alarming” channelisation rate as low as 69%

Swedish horseracing operator ATG’s Q4 2024 report into the levels of unlicensed gambling in the country found 69% to 82% of customers were betting with licensed operators. 

ATG’s quarterly reports measure web traffic to operators both inside and outside of the regulated Swedish market, with the channelisation rate calculated using actual web traffic “and assumptions about spending per visit based on a range of sources”. 

The channelisation rate remained consistent with the 68% to 82% figure recorded in Q4 2023, although it still fell below the Swedish government’s target of 90%.  

The lowest channelisation rate measured for online casino during the quarter was 59%, while its peak was 74%. 

For sports betting, the lowest rate measured was 79% while the highest was 88%.  

When looking at the 20 unlicensed sites with the highest numbers of visitor traffic, the report found 17 of them used the same platform providers as licensed operators.

Out of those top 20 unlicensed sites, six of them offered players direct deposits and withdrawals from Swedish bank accounts via the electronic identification system BankID. 

Of the 20 gambling websites with the highest traffic during the quarter, two appeared on the Swedish Gambling Authority’s banned list.  

The unlicensed site with the highest traffic during the period was luckyjungle.com, which had 147,284 visitors. 

This was followed by unlimitcasino.com with 113,002 visitors, with fuelcasino.com’s 94,456 visitors rounding out the top three.  

All three websites are operated by Infinzia Limited.  

ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth said: “It is unreasonable that such a large proportion of gambling still takes place outside the licensing system. Unlicensed gambling is a breeding ground for money laundering, but above all, Swedish players are left without protection from rogue actors.  

“Unlicensed gambling generates annual revenue almost as much as [what] the entire Swedish primary school costs.”

ATG claimed visits to unlicensed operators have “increased tenfold” since the Swedish market re-regulated in 2019.  

The report also estimated the unlicensed market currently has a gross turnover of up to SEK150bn (£11.4bn) each year. 

Skarplöth added: “The results of our quarterly surveys are alarming and indicate that a significant proportion of problem gamblers in Sweden are connected to unlicensed gambling sites. 

“We want people to feel good about their gaming. And we work for a gaming market that feels better tomorrow than it does today.  

“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.” 

In February, the Swedish government announced plans to review the country’s gambling legislation with a focus on excluding unlicensed operators from the market.