Solutions giant Playtech has signed a deal with Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, the igaming arm of former Swedish monopoly Svenska Spel to roll out its portfolio of online casino and live dealer games in the market.Popular Playtech titles such as Buffalo Blitz will now be available to Svenska Spel’s customers, with further slot launches expected throughout the year.
In addition to slot games, the deal sees Svenska Spel benefit from Playtech’s live casino offering, including innovative releases such as Quantum Blackjack.
Commenting on the deal, Jonas Nygren, vice president of casino, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, said: “We are very happy to have Playtech on-board and look forward to be offering their games to our players. We believe Playtech’s existing and upcoming portfolio has much to offer, including the Age of the Gods suite of games which already have proved popular at launch.”
“Playtech also brings exceptional innovation within the live segment, which allows us to expand this important category for our players.”
As well as increasing the number of games available to Svenska Spel’s customers, the deal represents an important move for Playtech.
According to the supplier’s chief operating officer Shimon Akad, the agreement represents ” a key new partnership for Playtech”.
“Svenska Spel Sport & Casino are the Swedish market’s leading operator, and with Playtech providing content across both online casino and a burgeoning area such as live casino, it will provide a compelling offer to its customers,” Akad explained.
Efforts by Svenska Spel to expand its casino offering, come after a “tumultuous” 2019 saw profits and revenues fall.
With more people staying at home during the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, there have been many claims of players’ igaming activity rising during the crisis. Svenska Spel was quick to point out that these claims could be misleading, adding that it had seen an overall decline in player activity.
The Playtech deal has been struck against the backdrop of ongoing discussions around deposit limits for online gaming. The current plan is to limit weekly deposits to SEK5,000 (£401/€459/$495) and is due to come into force in July.
With the Swedish government keen to impose additional restrictions on gambling throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, industry association Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) has been critical of the proposed changes. Even the jurisdiction’s regulator, Spelinspektionen, has suggested the restrictions may lead to an increase in black market gambling.
