Meet Mikael Franzén and Lovisa Ekman, Svenska Spel's Veterans In New Positions!
May 27, 2019 Kristina Vujadinovic
Swedish gambling operator Svenska Spel announced that the new role of head of agents, customer service and partner services will be appointed to Carolina Swaffer.
The new role that Swaffer is starting on June 1, implies that she will be responsible for Svenska Spel’s work with more than 6,500 agents and partners in Sweden…
… as well as over 2.1m customers!
The appointment comes after Spel last month revealed…
… a 5.9% decline in net gaming revenue for the first quarter of 2019.
Growth in the new Sport & Casino iGaming division was offset by struggles in the company’s lottery and land-based gaming units.
It isn’t the first time that Spel suffered a revenue decline. In fact, the last quarter of 2018 wasn’t great for this company, due to new regulations in the market.
The company’s struggle proceeds to the new year, and officials hope that Swaffer can help change this income drop.
As the current head of mail and communications services at Swedish postal service, PostNord Sverige, Swaffer has spent the majority of her career in this company.
Her previous roles within the PostNord were:
About her new role with the company, Swaffer said:
“I hope among other things to contribute with my long experience of digitisation, omni channel and sales”.
She adds that she is looking forward to working with this gaming giant:
“Svenska Spel is a strong player that faces an exciting challenge and a fantastic future in the regulated gaming market. This, in combination with the company’s focus on sustainability and gaming responsibility, is something that I look forward to working with.”
Svenska Spel is the state-owned gambling company created by the merger of two state companies, Penninglotteriet and Tipstjänst.
As a major player on the Sweden gambling market, the company conducts sales through approximately 6,700 agents, 2,000 land venues as well as via the Internet.
However…
… being big doesn’t guarantee success in this market.
The new Swedish online market was introduced at the start of 2019, and it seems that Spel hasn’t found the right approach to deal with strict regulations and new competitors.
Despite partnering up with Blueprint Gaming, one of the best studios in the iGaming industry, the revenues of the company are declining.
Not only that…
… but the company was dealing with an accusation concerning the violation of Sweden’s gambling ad rules.
According to the regulations, every ad has to contain a message regarding responsible gambling.
Something which Spel…
… failed to incorporate during their promotion on television.
This is just one of the many complaints that the company received since the beginning of the year. With its reputation shaken, it is understandable why the senior role was given to someone outside the organization.
President and CEO, Spel Patrik Hofbauer, is convinced that…
… “Carolina’s broad experience in business development and sales will be valuable in developing the cooperation with the company’s agents and partners and the service to its customers.”
He added:
“For Svenska Spel to be competitive in the new gaming market, the focus has to be on the customers. Carolina has exactly the right expertise to accomplish that.”
Source:
“Svenska Spel hands new senior role to Carolina Swaffer”, igamingbusiness.com, May 24, 2019.