Betsson is a Swedish online gambling site that originally catered to exchange betting but soon flourished to online poker, online casino, sports betting, and even scratch cards. It has sites based all over Europe and one based in Peru in South America. In 2008, it achieved the 1,000,000 registered customers milestone.
In May 2008, it opened Shopsson – a land-based betting outlet stationed in Sweden’s capital Stockholm that looks part Internet cafe, part retail betting shop. From the start, this move by Betsson has created a stir in the Swedish gambling industry. Betsson, on their defense, cites laws of the European Union to support the existence of Shopsson.
The issue involves the government-run Svenska Spel which has monopoly rights over betting outlets. The Swedish Lottery Inspectorate says that Betsson is in violation of these rights. Svenska Spel operates about 6,000 outlets all over the Scandinavian nation.
The Court of Appeals rejected Betsson’s plea to have Shopsson remained open. Despite this, Betsson’s CEO Pontus Lindwall has said that it will still contest the ruling one more time.
