The reduction in state control over the company has been described as a “natural continuation” of the 2019 gambling market reform. The 2019 reform saw Sweden transition from a state-owned horse racing monopoly model to an open, licensed market.

Key Changes in the ATG Agreement

The new agreement between the government and ATG includes the following changes:

• The state will no longer be responsible for appointing six of ATG’s eleven board members.
• ATG’s articles of association can be amended without state approval.
• The nomination committee must now follow guidelines requiring most ATG board members to be independent. 
• ATG will no longer be required to liquidate if there is no agreement with the state.
• The agreement is streamlined to focus on the financial model for the horse racing industry.

An additional complexity is added with regards to the relationship to the Swedish Horse Industry Foundation (HNS), the organization that works “with and for” the Swedish equine sector.

As a result of the renegotiated agreement, the payment amount to the HNS will be indexed for adjustments, and a donation agreement will be created to reinforce the foundation’s position and ensure a consistent flow of funding to improve the country’s equine ecosystem. 

ATG was established in 1974 to address the financial challenges facing harness and thoroughbred racing. 

The solution put forward by the state was to establish a joint betting company, whose surplus revenue would be allocated to the racing industry. As a result, ATG was granted exclusive rights to horse betting, As previously mentioned, ATG lost its monopoly in 2019 although the state retained significant control. 

“It’s no longer justified for the state to be involved to the extent it has been,” explained Niklas Wykman, Financial Markets Minister.”With the new agreement, the company assumes full responsibility of its operations.” 

He continued: “This allows for the recruitment of a board that can effectively develop the company, increase professionalism and strengthen Swedish horse sports for the future.” 

Continued Gambling Shake-Up in Sweden

The news of the state’s divestment from ATG comes less than a week after the Riksdag voted to discontinue brick-and-mortar casino gambling under the state’s exclusive license model. 

The change will see retail casino locations effectively outlawed in Sweden by 2026. 

Only Casino Cosompol in Stockholm remains, the last of four state-run casinos operated by the former monopoly Svenska Spel. Casinos in Sundsvall, Gothenburg, and Malmo have already been shuttered due to dwindling revenue and the company’s clear pivot to digital gambling channels. 

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Through the deal, Stakelogic’s portfolio of modern and classic online slot titles will be available for ATG customers.

A few titles that will be playable on the operator’s platform include Rooster Mobs, Wild Wild Bass 3 and Wild Hogs.

Stakelogic isn’t the only supplier that ATG has partnered with to begin 2024, as the Swedish operator has a similar content agreement in place with Swintt.

Christian Erlandsson, Head of Sports and Casino at ATG, said: “Stakelogic is an exciting supplier of casino games and we are very happy to be able to add their games.

“They make an excellent addition to our ever-expanding slot collection and help us further cement our position as one of the best online casinos in Sweden”.

Stakelogic’s titles include 7s, Bar Bells, and fruit symbols on the reels alongside free spins and other bonuses, as well as a Super Wheel feature, where once activated, players are taken to a live casino where they can spin a wheel for prizes and in-game bonuses.

Neil Tanti, Sales Manager at Stakelogic, added: “The Swedish market is a key target of ours, and by working with established developers like ATG, we can further cement our position as one of the must-have developers in the region.

“Players in Sweden demand the best from their online casino content, and we believe our unique brand of online slot action provides them with exactly that.”

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All titles in the SwinttPremium and SwinttGames line-ups as well as third-party releases from the SwinttStudios programme will be included as part of the deal.

Lars Kollind, Head of Business Development at Swintt, said: “We make no secret of the fact that we want Swintt to be one of the most recognisable software providers in the industry – and one of the best ways to guarantee that we achieve this lofty goal is to ensure that we’re always partnering with the biggest online casinos.

“With ATG.se being the number one gaming operator in Sweden, we’ve certainly found the perfect platform to showcase our exciting range of titles – and with SwinttGames, SwinttPremium and SwinttStudios releases launching there shortly, we’re sure the deal will be a big win-win for everyone involved.”

Notable titles in the SwinttGames line-up include the block-busting mobile-optimised cluster pays slot, Candy Gold, and Aloha Spirit XtraLock, which still ranks as the firm’s most successful releases to date thanks to a Tiki-themed free spins feature that grants players access to four enticing instant-win jackpots.

During Aloha Spirit XtraLock, players will have the chance to string together long sequences of cascading reel wins and collect coins that can be used to play a gacha machine-style mini-game, with each capsule released opening to reveal an instant prize.

Christian Erlandsson, Head of Sports and Casino at ATG, added: “ATG Casino has grown steadily during the five years we have offered it and we continue to grow. Therefore, it is natural that we also expand our offer to our customers with new games from sought-after studios like Swintt.”

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ATG appealed the fine by the Swedish gambling authority, contesting the size and warrant of the authority’s penalty related to deficiencies in its handling of money laundering controls between 2019 and 2021.

Spelinspektionen noted systematic shortcomings within its investigation, highlighting interactions related to eight customer accounts. ATG contested the claims, stating that suitable risk-based actions had taken place during the relevant period. 

The Administrative Court has agreed with ATG, noting that while there were shortcomings, they weren’t serious enough to warrant a warning and sanction fee. As a result, Spelinspektionen’s sanction fee has been overturned.

Hasse Lord Skarplöth, CEO of ATG, highlighted the decision as “a very important victory” for the company while also questioning Spelinspektionen’s request to raise the limit of penalty fees in future cases.

Lord Skarplöth stated: “Today’s decision also raises a number of larger questions. The Swedish Gaming Authority has requested to raise the limit for penalty fees to over SEK 10m in future cases. My opinion is that that request should be strongly questioned after today’s decision from the Administrative Court.

“The same applies to the Spelinspektionen’s strategy, which differs from the rest of the world of authorities – one should spend more time supporting than punishing the actors within the licensing system. And put the resources into defending the Swedish license market and chasing the unlicensed gambling companies.”

Spelinspektionen has three weeks to appeal the verdict to the Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping.

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The trio’s first report detailed that Kindred had contacted 0.5 per cent of customers who it suspected were displaying problematic behaviours.

Alongside Kindred, Svenska Spel reported contact with 4.2 per cent of problematic customers across its sports and casino online business. In addition, ATG reported a 1.4 per cent contact with customers showing signs of “risky behaviour”.

Signing Kindred’s first report, CEO, Henrik Tjärnström, explained: “Our decision together with ATG and Svenska Spel to openly publish important customer behaviour data, in addition to our Journey towards zero ambition, will make it easier for our stakeholders to follow and understand how we, with the help of regulation, technology, research and human interaction, work to prevent harmful gambling.

“We believe that a more fact-based and open dialogue contributes to a more sustainable industry and we hope other operators will follow.”

In Autumn last year, the trio pledged to openly report on four key gambling harm metrics, with an update provided every six months and presented to Sweden Gambling’s Inspectorate.  

Key metrics displayed to the public show the percentage of customers contacted of suspected/detected problem gambling behaviours. The report contains further information on self-exclusion ratios following customer care interventions.

The percentage of contacted customers who reduced their gambling was recorded at 76 per cent for Kindred and 75 per cent for Svensk Spel’s online unit. ATG recorded the lowest impact on reduced gambling at 52 per cent.

Kindred reported that contacted individuals had reduced their gambling on average (deposits) by a rate of 75 per cent. The metric carried the greatest variance amongst participants, as Svenska Spel and ATG recorded a respective lower impact of 49 per cent and 65 per cent.

Svenska Spel led the trio on self-exclusion success, as it reported that nine per cent of contacted customers took a break shorter than six months, whilst three per cent chose to stay self-excluded for six months and longer.

On self-exclusion, Kindred registered 1.4 per cent of contacted customers who took a six month break and 0.5 per cent who decided to exclude for longer periods. ATG reported a self-exclusion rate of 1.5 per cent and 2.2 per cent.

Submitting the report, the trio urged Swedish counterparts to join the transparent reporting initiative: “these reports will hopefully inspire more Swedish licensed operators to publish the same key metrics and thereby contribute to a more transparent and fact-based dialogue.”

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This will see the igaming supplier “significantly expand its reach in the country,” with ATG set to enhance its digital output through the addition of a number of titles.

Under the terms of the deal, ATG will gain access to Wizard Games’ offerings as well as selected third-party content through Pariplay’s Fusion aggregation platform. 

Among the games set to be made available are Dragons of the North, Spirit of Mustang, 12 Super Hot Diamonds Extreme and Jade King.

Maria Allmér, Head of Casino at ATG, said: “Our promise is to offer exciting gaming experiences in a responsible and smooth way to our customers.

“By partnering with Pariplay we will be able to further reinforce our product portfolio and enhance our offer in line with our promise.”

The integration of Pariplay’s Fusion offering, which now consists of over 14,000 games from more than 80 suppliers, will also give ATG access to a suite of back-office conversion and retention tools that are designed to enhance player value.

This latest deal, said Pariplay, marks “significant expansion” in Sweden for the provider, with ATG reportedly boasting a customer base of 1.3 million at the end of 2021.

“ATG is a well-established and much-loved brand in Sweden with a long history,” commented Moti Malul, Chief Executive Officer of NeoGames. 

“Since launching their online casino, it has gone from strength to strength, and we are thrilled to support their continuous growth with our premium content that resonates well with a wide player demographic.”

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The company, which notified the gaming authority of the issue on February 15, 2022, discovered that during the the January 13 to January 28 time frame it was not possible to reach the self-deactivation function.

It is said that the error, which has seen a SEK 2m (£160,000) penalty fee issued, occurred following an update of the login system, with the problem discovered on January 27 and subsequently rectified the next day.

Furthermore, ATG noted that it has not been able to ascertain an exact number of users that had tried to utilise the feature, but estimates that 100 users “may have had problems”.

According to the group, the shortcoming identified has been remedied and new procedures have been introduced to prevent the error from being repeated.

“Taking into account the same circumstances as mentioned above regarding the seriousness of the violation, how long the violation has been going on and ATG’s turnover, the Spelinspektionen assesses that the sanction fee should amount to SEK 2m,” the regulator said in an update regarding the matter. 

“The Swedish Gaming Authority assesses that this penalty fee is also proportionate to ATG’s GGR.”

ATG was granted licences on November 27, 2018, to provide commercial online gambling and betting under the Gambling Act from 1 January 2019. These are valid until December 31, 2023.

Moreover, the SGA also issued an update regarding requirements set by the Gambling Act in a bid to ensure that the activity is conducted in a healthy and safe manner under public control. 

“A licensee must give registered players the opportunity to suspend themselves from games for a certain period of time or until further notice,” it added. “A suspension until further notice may not be lifted until after twelve months at the earliest.

“The function for self-exclusion must be clearly visible and accessible from all pages on the website where the player can play or where there is information about the gambling account or information about gambling responsibility.”

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The agreement between the two will witness the igaming supplier’s catalogue of slot games become accessible to players who utilise ATG’s platform. 

Johan Ohman, Founder of Slotmill, said: “Being selected as supplier to ATG is humbling at the same time as it proves that the Slotmill quality strategy is paying off. 

“With decades of industry experience and a Swedish heritage, the team at Slotmill has a deep-rooted understanding of what slot players are looking for.”

Echoing the thoughts of Ohman, Christian Erlandsson, Head of Sportsbook at ATG, hopes the suite of titles will “resonate” with its players. 

He added: “Slotmill offers a portfolio of diverse games that we feel will resonate well with our player base. We look forward to the games going live and welcome Slotmill as supplier.”

The recent team-up from igaming-based firm has followed closely from its European expansion into Romania earlier this month that saw the supplier sign a licence agreement with Malta-based Avento. 

Scheduled to be complete by the close of March, the agreement will see the former certify its games for the Romanian market, resulting in Avento brands gaining access to the former’s portfolio of slots.

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Gaming companies with a Swedish license are obliged to comply with a series of temporary measures in the jurisdiction, which were introduced earlier in the year in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Issuing its latest update, the regulator has found that players at ATG and Spooniker have been able to deposit more than the maximum permitted amount of SEK 5,000 per week on commercial online games.

“The Spelinspektionen combines the injunction with a fine of SEK 1m for each commenced week that the injunction is not complied with, calculated three weeks from the end of the week in which AB Trav och Galopp and Spooniker Ltd take part in the decision,” the Spelinspektionen stated in a media release.

ATG provides games on the atg.se and Sammen.atg.se websites, while Spooniker’s online gaming and betting licence permits activity at bingo.se, mariacasino.se, storspelare.se, unibet.se.

It was added that “players have been able to circumvent the deposit limit of SEK 5,000 per week for games at online casinos. By raising their deposit limit for betting and then, when the money has been deposited in the gaming account, lowering the deposit limit to SEK 5,000 per week or lower, players have been able to play for the full amount at the licensee’s online casino”.

The issue of temporary restrictions in Sweden has drawn the ire of many industry incumbents throughout the year, with Kindred Group recently hitting out at a potential extension of extra restrictions in the market, highlighting a lack of facts and worry that the government’s policy is opposite to that of the country’s Parliament. 

The operator says that Sweden’s government has, seven months after the restrictions were first suggested, not accounted for any facts that support for implementation or presented any findings that support their assumptions. 

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Under the agreement, ATG customers will gain access to ‘top performing’ games including, Wolf Gold alongside Pragmatic Play’s newest title, Starz Megaways.

Lena Yasir, vice president at Pragmatic Play, said: “We are delighted to take our slot games live with ATG, who have a stellar reputation in Sweden.

“As a company looking to continually grow in a regulated jurisdiction, ATG matched our ambition and we are confident of a long and successful partnership.”

This deal continues the supplier’s aim to expand across regulated markets following similar deals with Superbet, LeoVegas and Royal Panda.

Maria Allmer, head of casino at ATG, added: “Pragmatic Play continues to develop exciting and diverse slot games and we are thrilled to be able to offer them to our customers.  

“With an impressive roadmap and a smooth integration process, working with Pragmatic Play is set to be very fulfilling for both parties.” 

Pragmatic Play currently produces up to four new slot titles a month. The company’s entire portfolio is available through a single API integration.

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