On the left: Distribution of Swedish net gaming revenue between submarkets in 2022.
On the right: The Swedish gaming market's net gaming revenue in 2019-22 in SEK billions and annual growth in percentage.

The year 2022 did not turn out as anyone had expected. Just after we thought the corona pandemic was behind us, Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trade was affected in different ways, where the daily goods trade increased sharply while the growth for the durable goods trade was more modest. Triss became the people's favorite product and was the best-selling item in 2022.

According to the Swedish Gambling Authority, the legal Swedish gambling market grew by 5 percent in 2022, which is on par with previous years' growth rate. The total net gambling revenue amounted to approximately SEK 27 billion.

The biggest growth was in the market for commercial online gambling and betting, which increased by 6 percent. Online gambling increased at the same time that gambling in stores and at agents decreased, a movement that was reinforced during covid-19 and continued after the pandemic.

Sweden is the country in Europe where the largest share of total gambling takes place online. Many countries with significantly larger gambling markets in terms of revenue, such as Spain, Italy, Germany and France, have a relatively low share of online gambling (1). The online channel – that is, gaming via mobile and computer – is what drives growth in the industry. Therefore, it is likely that the growth in Sweden going forward will be somewhat lower compared to the rest of Europe, because the Swedish gaming market already has such a high level of digital maturity.

In 2023, households are expected to become even poorer when prices rise faster than wages. But consumers tend to prioritize small-scale everyday luxury when they don't have as much money to spend. The share of household income that goes to gambling has historically been low, just over 1 percent. This suggests that the Swedish gaming market will not be negatively affected to the same extent as many other industries, which has also been shown in previous recessions.

(1) Source: The European Gaming and Betting Association (EBGA).

PETTER ANDERSSON & CARL BECKMAN
global analysts, Svenska Spel

https://om.svenskaspel.se/en-ny-spelmarknad/svenska-spelmarknaden-vaxer-trots-orolig-omvarld/