Some of the biggest advertisers in Sweden currently are gaming companies who are spending a lot more as the country gets ready to end the monopoly of the state-run gaming company.
That reports comes from the media research firm of Kantar Sifo, which identified three companies, including the state run Svenska Spel, as having spent the most last year: $58,430, a nearly 20 percent increase over the previous year. The biggest spender of all was a grocery retailer.
Coming into seventh place was the aforementioned Svenska Spel, which currently has a monopoly on all gaming in the country. The gaming companies that followed, Kindred Group and LeoVegas, spent $54,779 and $38,822 respectively. LeoVegas’s spending increased 83.2 percent from the year before.
Although television and outdoor advertising were the most popular media among gaming operators, they are also moving into the internet.
Recently Lotteriinspektionen, the gambling regulator of the Scandinavian country, issued a warning to a local newspaper to stop printing ads from foreign operators. This is a violation of the Lottery Act that bans companies that are not allowed to operate in the country to advertise.
This comes as Sweden is near to finalizing the planned reorganization of the gaming market. A recent review of the industry recommended opening the market to international operators. Under new laws expected to take effect in 2019, foreign operators will be allowed to apply for license to operate in Sweden, which has a gaming market worth about $2.05 billion.
