The Swedish operator saw revenue growth driven by horseracing betting.

Sweden.- Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) has reported Q1 net gaming revenue (NGR) of SEK1.3bn (€111.7m). That’s a rise of 9.2 per cent year-on-year.

The increase in revenue was mainly driven by horse racing betting, which generated almost three-quarters of all gaming revenue at SEK968m. The figure was up 13.3 per cent in comparison with the same quarter last year. However, online casino NGR grew by 13.8 per cent to SEK165m.

The rise in horse racing and casino revenue helped offset a 10.8 per cent decline in sports betting revenue, which came in at SEK173m due to player-favourable sports results. Total Q1 revenue was up 9 per cent at SEK1.5bn. Operating profit was SEK389m.

ATG chief financial officer Lotta Nilsson Viitala said: “In addition to positive calendar effects with an early Easter weekend, we had more jackpots on our major gaming brands than during the same period last year. For horse racing, we also had a weak Q1 in 2023 and a very good first quarter in 2024, which contributes to the strong comparative increase.”

Last month, ATG urged banks to block payments to unlicensed gaming operators after its report for Q4 showed a continued decline in the channelisation rate to licensed gambling. ATG’s report estimated the channelisation to regulated gambling for Q4 2023 to be between 69 and 82 per cent. That’s some way from the government target of 90 per cent and the fourth consecutive quarter in which the rate has worsened. ATG said it had seen a tenfold increase in traffic to unlicensed operators since the opening of the Swedish regulated online gambling market in 2019.