BIG MONEY IN SWEDISH ADVERTISING

13 July 2007

Government gambling monopoly says it has to advertise to fight off foreign competition

The Local in Sweden reports that Swedish publications made over 700 million kronor ($103 million) by publishing gambling advertising last year in spite of the fact that the practice is illegal in the country. The figures reflect a quarter of a million kronor increase over the previous year.

The article quotes Hakan Hallstedt, Sweden's chief legal counsel at the national Gaming Board, who says that because no action was taken by the enforcement authorities, the Board felt it was "hardly worthwhile" reporting cases. "It hardly feels worthwhile continuing to report cases when very little happens," he said.

The Scandinavian nation has a ban on non-approved gambling firms advertising through its domestic media and also recently prosecuted ten media bosses for publishing such prohibited ads. Despite these, earnings were up by over $37 million from last year.

The Board said that it has been reporting the editors of several major Swedish media outlets for publishing gaming ads from international companies for many years. In cases that have made it to court, the verdict has been in favour of the Gaming Board but these have all been appealed, with the Supreme Court now considering whether it is to hear cases against the Editors-In-Chief of Expressen and Aftonbladet.

Sweden's courts have effectively stood still on the gambling issue, waiting to see whether and how the State will react with legislation on international firms targeting Swedish gamblers. Another factor is that the European Union has threatened Sweden with legal action in the European Court of Justice over the matter.

For its part, the government has delayed resolving the issue with Swedish gambling legislation the subject of an inquiry, the results of which will not be clear until December of 2008.

Defending its position, a spokesman from the government gambling monopoly Svenska Spel told the newspaper: "It's clear that if we are to be able to defend ourselves against the competition we have to continue to advertise – we can't shrink our marketing any more."

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