Sweden Wants to End Gambling MonopolySvenska Spel could be valued double that of Ladbrokes.
Sweden's ruling Moderate party has said it would like to "de-monopolize" the nation's gambling industry and sell off
Sweden’s ruling Moderate party has giving its backing to the de-monopolisation of the country’s gambling industry and sell-off of Svenska Spel at the party’s annual conference in Gävle on Saturday. Svenska Spel provides the world's 10th largest online poker room.
In the past, the Moderate party has followed the line of Sweden’s finance minister, Anders Borg, who has been in favour of privatising some state-owned business, but who had ruled out privatisation of the gambling monopoly.
Speaking to Gaming Intelligence Group at the close of the party conference, Mr. Tobé said that the decision was an important one which would now facilitate a discussion between the ruling parties as well as between the state and foreign gaming companies.
If Svenska Spel were to be valued using a similar P/E ratio to its publicly listed competitors, the company could be valued at roughly €7.05 billion, almost double the size of Ladbrokes Plc.
Meanwhile, Swede Petter Nylander remains in custody Monday and was due to be transferred to France. He is the CEO of Unibet.
Two Members of the European Parliament have said the French government abused EU rules when they arrested the boss of a Swedish gambling site earlier this week, according to a BBC report.
Nylander was stopped by police at Amsterdam airport in the Netherlands on Monday while trying to board a flight to the UK.
He was then taken by the police and put into a cell. On Wednesday he was transferred to a hotel.
Mr Nylander was held under a European arrest warrant issued by a judge in France, where he will be moved to on 31 October.
He was acting on a complaint by the two French horseracing and lottery betting monopolies.
UK MEP Christopher Heaton-Harris and his Swedish colleague MEP Christofer Fjellner say Mr Nylander is innocent.
"We find it astonishing the French authorities are using the European Arrest Warrant to protect their own business markets," the MEPs wrote in an open letter to the European Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.
"(We) believe their actions are violating one of the four fundamental freedoms of the internal market, the freedom to provide services.
"We strongly urge the European Commission to continue putting pressure on the French authorities to secure the immediate release of Mr Nylander."
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
Originally published October 29, 2007 9:18 am ET
