Bettson, the online gambling operator, has announced its intention to launch a betting shop in the Swedish capital, despite the fact that the country’s monopolistic strategy only allows outlets run by Svenska Spel and ATG representatives.  Bettson, which is clearly challenging the country’s policy, has stated that it was not worried about legal action.

“We are taking this opportunity to challenge the Swedish gaming monopoly as we see betting shops as an interesting development of our business. Betting shops complement our online offering and our aim is to create more freedom of choice for our players,” said Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson.

Lindwall went on to say that the Swedish market was ready for a new entry and his company felt that there was no reason to wait for the political process to move forward in order to bring about change. “We want to drive development of the gaming market for the benefit of players. I am confident that the monopoly's retail outlets will experience some tough competition going forward,” he said.