Mystery client in Boss-Svenska Spel poker deal

[jetset]

MYSTERY FIRM TO USE BOSS-SVENSKA SPEL ONLINE SERVICES

Coy customer is a state-controlled member of the World Lottery Association

Mystery of the week was the disclosure by Swedish government gambling monopoly Svenska Spel that an unidentified "state-controlled member of the World Lottery Association" was to use its services to set up an Internet poker operation.

Svenska Spel will collaborate with Swedish gambling software provider Boss Media to provide the coy customer with poker facilities from Boss, backed by Svenska Spel's expertise in security and supervision.

Svenska Spel CEO Jesper Kärrbrink did a little bragging on the deal, saying: “This is a great acknowledgement of our Internet poker."

The disclosure reveals that the mystery company follows the Swedish government monopoly model and allows state-controlled Internet poker for its citizens. Boss Media will deliver and operate the technical gaming platform and Svenska Spel’s solutions for responsible gaming, security and supervision will be integrated into the gaming platform, with a delivery expected early in 2008.

“It is satisfying that we will deliver our products to yet another WLA-member. We are particularly content over the cooperation with Svenska Spel who has helped us develop the tools for responsible gaming which will be a fundamental part in the gaming companies’ interactive gaming offers in the future,” said Markus Holm, executive vice president and head of business development at Boss Media.

Svenska Spel and Boss Media will be rewarded for their involvement with part of the rake which the players will pay to the new poker company.

“Svenska Spel’s Internet poker and its solutions for responsible gaming have gained widespread attention throughout the world. We have shown that it is possible to combine an attractive net poker highly appreciated by the players paired with extensive demands on responsibility. Our poker site quickly became the undoubtedly biggest on the Swedish market, yet the number of problem players on our site is half of that of other poker sites,” boasts Kärrbrink.

The new operator will have the right to use Svenska Spel’s responsible gaming tool Play Scan, which predicts and warns a player who is starting to manifest sound gaming behaviour.

Speculation in the industry is that the mystery newcomer could be Austrian - the state-owned gambling monopoly in that country could benefit significantly from an online poker offering, with development costs contained by cooperation with the Swedes.

[jetset]

SVENSKA SPEL ONLINE POKER EXPANSION NIXED

Request to join Boss Media in providing poker to a WLA monopoly refused

Swedish news publication The Local.se reports that the Swedish government has turned down a proposal from its gambling monopoly Svenska Spel to provide online poker services to an unidentified European member of the World Lottery Association.

Svenska Spel had planned to partner with online poker software provider Boss Media in "exporting" online poker services for the country concerned (see previous InfoPowa reports) despite its claims that its own monopoly was a good vehicle to control the expansion problem gambling.

The Local reports that instead of approving the proposal, it has suggested that Svenska Spel carry out an internal, ongoing investigation into the existing license, which is due for renewal in June 30, 2008. Until that investigation is complete, the government has decided not to allow the further expansion of Svenska Spel's online poker services. The government apparently stressed that the social impact of gambling had precedence over profits.

Third quarter 2007 results at the Swedish monopoly recently showed a 1.4 billion Swedish kronor ($215 million) profit. Overall profits for the first three quarters of this year were in excess of 4 billion SEK - up 19 percent compared to 2006.

The Swedish government is currently under pressure from the European Commission to cease its monopolistic gambling activities and open up the growing and lucrative Swedish market to fair competition from other EU member states.