Svenska Spel Q3 Profit Falls 9% on Brand and IT Spend
Operating profit at Svenska Spel fell 9% year on year in the third quarter, down to SEK656m (€59m). The state-owned operator says the drop comes from heavier spending on branding and its cloud migration. Those costs squeezed the operating margin from 38% to 35%. Net gaming revenue edged up 1% to SEK1.898bn (€170m), with growth spread across sports betting, online casino and lotteries.
Demand wasn't the problem. Management blamed deliberate outlay: developing the Svenska Spel brand and moving group-wide IT systems to the cloud. Both are meant to improve the customer experience and lift operational efficiency over the longer term. Watch the margin figure. A three-point slide in a single quarter is a real cost, not a rounding error.
The year-to-date numbers tell a steadier story. From January to September, net gaming revenue rose 3% to SEK5.741bn (€516m), and operating profit climbed 2% to SEK1.932bn (€173m). Across the nine months the operating margin held at 34%. So the group went into the final quarter with profit ahead of the prior year, Q3 dip and all.
Sport & Casino grew fastest of the divisions: revenue up 6% to SEK516m (€46m) in the quarter, and up 6% to SEK1.633bn (€147m) year to date. Oddset got a lift from the closing stages of the football World Cup. Management said the tournament's final weeks in July exceeded internal targets. A useful reminder of how one event on the sporting calendar can move a quarterly line.
Tur, the lottery division, posted a 1% gain to SEK1.316bn (€118m), helped by Lotto and Triss. Greater visibility in grocery stores and a special Triss anniversary ticket supported sales. Eurojackpot activity came in lower than a year earlier, though, because jackpot levels were smaller. Lottery remains the group's biggest business at SEK3.909bn (€351m) year to date, up 3%.
Chief executive Anna Johnson framed the quarter as continued delivery in a competitive market. "During the third quarter, the positive development continued with growth and good profitability," she said. She also pointed to the next phase: investment in technology, alongside what she called the largest renewal of the Svenska Spel brand since the company was formed in 1997. The aim, she said, is to strengthen the core customer offering while holding profitability and the operator's contribution to Swedish sport and society.
Johnson didn't soften the market conditions behind those choices. Growth in the Swedish gaming market is moderate, she said, and competition for customers is fierce. Against that backdrop she described taking market share in both the licence and lottery markets during the first half of 2026 as a show of strength. Oddset, casino and Triss all showed strong development, she said.
The financial takeaway: Q3 absorbed the cost of a brand refresh and an IT overhaul, and the nine-month margin held at 34% regardless. Now analysts will watch whether the fourth quarter keeps the year-to-date profit gain intact, and whether the 35% quarterly margin recovers as the cloud migration and brand spend work through the P&L.