New survey analyses Swedish online casino market: Who’s playing, how often and why?

A recent survey on the Swedish iGaming market found that 12% of the country’s population has played at an online casino in the past 12 months.

The study was carried out by Raketech’s affiliate site Casinofeber in collaboration with Reflect Företagsutveckling AB, an independent research institute led by Martin Johansson, who is a former head of analysis at Svenska Spel.

The survey was conducted on a sample size of 4,382 participants. Of those surveyed, roughly 500 individuals identified as online casino players, with an additional 500 stating they had either played previously or were open to the idea of doing so in the future.

The survey discovered that 44% of Swedish online casino players engage in gaming on a monthly basis, and that men constitute 69% of all casino players.

Shared characteristics

According to the survey, the typical online casino player in Sweden has some shared characteristics.

The average female casino player is 43 years old, and most are married or in a relationship (64%).

They have attended college for less than three years (63%), work full-time (52%), and have a monthly income between €2,700 and €3,600 (29%).

Similarly, the average male casino player is 42 years old, married or in a relationship (60%), and has attended college for less than three years (66%).

The majority work full-time (64%), and a large proportion has a monthly income between €2,700 and €3,600 (32%).

Playing frequency

The survey results indicate that 21% of online casino players in Sweden participate in gaming at least once per week, while 34% only play a couple of times per year.

Interestingly, the study found that older players engage in gaming more often than younger players do. Of those over the age of 50, 9% play every day or almost every day, and 23% play once per week. In contrast, only 10% of young people play once per week, and a mere 3% play every day.

Favourite site

In the survey, online casino players were asked which sites they had played on in the last 12 months, and the results show that Svenska Spel dominates the market with a massive 40% of the vote, likely due to its large customer base.

Following in second place is LeoVegas with 23%, and ATG’s online casino with 16%. Unibet and Bet365 received 13% each.

Additionally, the survey asked participants about their casino preferences and found that the majority of players selected a particular casino based on the ease and seamlessness of the platform.

Playing incentive

The survey found that the desire to win money is the most common reason players choose to engage in online casino gaming, followed closely by the excitement factor.

In addition, the social aspect was also a significant factor, with many players indicating that they enjoy betting with friends and colleagues.

Slots are the clear favourite game type among Swedish casino players, receiving 52% of the total vote when respondents were asked what type of game they preferred to play.

When grouping card games with blackjack and poker, the card-related category received 36% of the vote.

The survey results indicate that a majority of online casino players (78%) are aware of self-exclusion scheme Spelpaus, with women more likely to have heard of it than men.

Additionally, 13% of players have used Spelpaus to suspend their gaming activities.

Ex-players and potential players

Of the survey participants, 5% said they do not play at online casinos, but expressed interest in trying online casino gaming, with 58% of potential players being men.

According to the survey, 48% of potential players show the most interest in playing blackjack, while 47% are inclined towards playing slots.

The study also identified a group of ex-players – those who used to play at online casinos but have not done so for 12 months and express no desire to play again. This group accounts for 7% of the Swedish population, with 61% being men.

Of these ex-players, 23% now participate in other real-money online games. The most common reason given for stopping playing is a loss of interest.

The full survey is available here.