BOS Urges Swedish Government to Divest Svenska Spel and Reregulate Gambling Market

Gustaf Hoffstedt, Chief Executive Officer of BOS, has called for a fundamental reset of Sweden’s gambling framework. In an interview with SBC News ahead of the SBC Summit Lisbon, Hoffstedt criticized the government’s approach since the 2019 re-regulation. The core issue is the state’s triple role in proposing laws, supervising the market, and running the commercial operator Svenska Spel.

Hoffstedt stated it is tricky for the government to handle all three functions. “There are no watertight partitions between the legislative and judicial powers and the state-owned company. Therefore, the government-owned gambling company will always be given positive discrimination.” He urged the state to sell Svenska Spel and concentrate solely on legislation and enforcement. He further called for full reregulation to open the lottery market to competition.

Regulatory Shortcomings Since 2019

Hoffstedt noted the current government has taken no measures to increase the attractiveness of the licensed market during its term, which ends this autumn. Instead it relies on further tightening licensed operations while attacking unlicensed operators. “This is a strategy that is doomed to fail.”

He stressed that high channelisation requires two-thirds focus on making the licensed market attractive and one-third on unlicensed activity. All current emphasis is on the latter. The government has also failed to implement its own proposal to criminalise unlicensed conversion of Swedish players. Svenska Spel has itself faced regulatory scrutiny from Spelinspektionen, showing the structural bias claim is not one-sided.

Sweden’s market exhibits the highest online penetration in Europe at just over 68%. With an adult population of around eight million, online and land-based gambling now operate as one interconnected market. Revenues have stagnated across operators, suppliers, and affiliates. Hoffstedt observed that Swedish firms have long expanded abroad, with domestic revenue often minimal; he estimated Sweden accounts for roughly one percent of Evolution‘s business.

The Path to Balanced Nordic Regulation

The 2019 re-regulation produced clear benefits, including healthy competition among responsible operators, a central self-exclusion system, and binding player protections. Hoffstedt pointed to upcoming Finnish liberalisation in 2027 as a chance to replicate the positives while avoiding Sweden’s mistakes. Finland could become a beacon if it skips the most embarrassing errors.

The risk lies in continued one-sided policy. Without greater emphasis on licensed-market appeal, channelisation will keep declining and legitimate operators will face unnecessary pressure. Swedish authorities must rebalance their approach before the electoral cycle ends. Nordic regulators elsewhere should treat the Swedish experience as a concrete template of what to adjust rather than copy.

Reporting: SBC News

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