The Vegas result area is responsible for the Vegas Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs), which are found in slightly more than 2,200 restaurants and bingo halls throughout the country. There are a total of 6,700 VLTs installed among Svenska Spel’s business partners. Vegas is Sweden’s single largest gaming platform in terms of net gaming revenues. Vegas’s gaming portfolio comprises classic wheel games, poker games and numbers games.
Svenska Spel has a mandate to offer gaming on VLTs with clear restrictions on location, the number of VLTs, and winnings and stake restrictions. Under the Swedish Lotteries Act, the VLTs may only be located in restaurants with alcohol licences and in bingo halls with bingo permits, to ensure that the game is only played in environments that already enforce age limits.
Svenska Spel is to comprise a credible alternative to illegal gaming activities, and in 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that Vegas is the only VLT allowed in Sweden. According to the Swedish Gambling Authority, illegal gaming machines annually generate billions in turnover.
Gaming on VLTs is occasionally questioned since it – along with online gaming and casino gaming – is linked to a relatively high risk of developing problem gaming. Accordingly, the Vegas result area continuously works to strengthen its responsible gaming efforts to provide customers with the means to monitor their gaming.
The minimum age for gaming on Vegas is 18. Customers must register their date of birth before they can start playing. In the event of a win, the date of birth is printed on the winning ticket, which must match the ID card before the winning is paid out.
In 2012, the Vegas result area conducted 2,407 test purchases (2,473) among its business partners to ensure that they are making sure that no minors are playing Vegas VLTs. Some 84% passed the tests, which was down somewhat compared with the preceding year. In 2013, the objective is to conduct at least one test purchase per business partner and to improve the percentage of passed test purchases.
Svenska Spel also monitors cases of illegal gaming machines among its business partners. If illegal gaming machines are discovered, the Swedish Gambling Authority is informed and the business partner is told to remove the illegal gaming machine. If the partner fails to comply, Svenska Spel terminates the partnership.
Accordingly, while Vegas is marketed to a very limited extent, there is considerable focus on information and training courses. In December 2012, 1,362 individuals among 717 business partners completed a responsible gaming training course that included realistic scenarios and questions. The aim is for at least one individual with each business partner to complete the training course. Information about Vegas, risky gaming and where customers and relatives can turn in the event of problems is available at all gaming locations.
In 2012, the result area developed a responsible gaming tool that is to become available through the Spelkortet customer card and that enables customers to voluntarily set gaming limits on time and money, to be able to see gaming statistics and block themselves from gaming on Vegas. The responsible gaming tool is expected to be available for customers by the summer of 2013.
Since 1 January 2013, new limitation rules apply for new gaming permits for gaming machines/VLTs from the Swedish Gambling Authority. One of the aims of the new rule is to ensure that the game remains a supplement to the business partner’s operations. Accordingly, requirements are imposed on the restaurants’ sales. This means that the number of gaming machines/VLTs will be reduced among a number of business partners that do not fulfil the new sales requirements. At the same time, there is the possibility of installing more gaming machines/VLTs with other business partners. Overall, the number of gaming machines/VLTs will decrease.