The gambling regulator in Sweden, the Lotteriinspektionen, has issued gambling licences to the sixteen operators who will be allowed to provide gambling services in the reformed Swedish online gambling industry, which launches on January 1, 2019.

There were few surprises on the list of companies receiving licences, which included well known online names such as Kindred Group Plc, Betsson AB and LeoVegas AB, all of which are listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Responding to the news in a statement on Friday, the Group CEO of Kindred, Henrik Tjarnstom, said that his company welcomed the newly-regulated gaming market, which he believed would be more focused on harm reduction and consumer protection.

Kindred Group has been given licenses to operate a number of domains: unibet.se, mariacasino.se, storspelare.se, bingo.se, igame.se, while the Stockholm-based Betsson AB will be operating three online entities: their primary Betsson brand, along with NordicBet and SverigeAutomaten.

UK PRESENCE

The state-owned operator Svenska Spel has also been awarded licences to offer sports betting, lottery and online casino games, and will also work with racing company AB TRAV in running the atg.se domain. Other European companies to earn licences are German sportsbook Interwetten Sports and the Bwin and Partygaming brands from GVC Holdings.

There will also be a UK presence in Sweden as Bet365 has earned a licence to run its sports betting and casino gaming site in the country, along with the Sunderland-based gaming company Tombola.

The new licences coincide with a number of changes at the Lotteriinspektionen, including a name change to become the Spelinspektionen, and the regulator will have greater powers and resources to oversee the Swedish gaming industry from 2019.