Sweden will be left with just one land-based casino after Svenska Spel confirmed that it intends to close its Casino Cosmopol venues in Gothenburg and Malmö.
Svenska Spel said that its land-based operations have been struggling to make a profit for a number of years due to declining visitor numbers and the growing interest in online casino gaming.
In order to limit the company’s losses, Svenska Spel intends to shut down its Casino Cosmopol operations in Gothenburg and Malmö, with a final decision to be made after union negotiations have been concluded.
“This is an emotionally tough step to take as it affects many of our employees,” said Casino Cosmopol CEO Ola Enquist. “We have taken a number of measures in an effort to increase revenue and reduce costs.
“Despite hard work, we see that the measures are not sufficient. Therefore, we now intend to wind down two of our casinos.”
Svenska Spel said that more and more customers were choosing to play online, with this move accelerating after the re-regulation of the gambling market in 2019, and the subsequent Covid pandemic, when all Casino Cosmopol venues remained closed.
In an effort to reverse Casino Cosmopol’s decline, Svenska Spel restructured the entire organization, changing the opening hours from seven to four days a week, simplifying its restaurant concept and reducing staff.
Despite this, Casino Cosmopol’s net gaming revenue has continued to decline, decreasing by 11 per cent to SEK247 million in its most recent results for the third quarter of 2023, with the business posting an operating loss of SEK35 million for the quarter.
In the event of the closure of the Gothenburg and Malmö casinos, Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm will be Sweden’s only remaining land-based casino.
“We have long seen a trend of more people playing online,” said Svenska Spel president and CEO Patrik Hofbauer. “In the last ten years, online casinos have grown strongly, which changes the conditions for running land-based casinos.
“Despite significant measures, we see challenges to reach profitability for Casino Cosmopol. That is why we are now taking this further step to limit losses.”
The casino closures will likely affect around 120 employees in Gothenburg and 80 employees in Malmö.
Svenska Spel was commissioned by the Swedish government to establish a land-based casino market in Sweden back in 1999.
The first casino opened in Sundsvall in 2001 (subsequently closed in 2020), with a second casino opening later that year in Malmö, followed by Gothenburg in 2002 and Stockholm in 2003.