Ýstanbul Awaits You... 20 AN RAMA P www.el2009.org
Members’ News Sweden 2008 has been a very turbulent year for the lottery and gaming business in Sweden. The foreign operators are marketing themselves (illegally) more and more aggressively – one of them has even opened a retail shop in Stockholm City without being stopped, a “maffioso” is standing trial for operating illegal gaming machines and murdering competitors, the Government has declared that the possibility of selling out parts of Svenska Spel should be looked into, Svenska Spel is frequently accused by the Gaming Inspection for letting under-age adolescents play the VLTs and the CEO and two of its deputy managers suddenly left the company in April when a new chair had been appointed by Anders Borg, the Minister of Finance, and it was evident that he and the Svenska Spel top management had different views on how to run the state lottery. - It was quite a surprise to me, when I suddenly was asked to chair Svenska Spel, says Margareta Winberg, former top politician in Sweden and recently ambassador to Brazil. I have very little experience from the gaming business, apart from inaugurating the Stockholm Casino some years ago when I was deputy prime minister and was asked to do so by the then CEO Meg Tivéus. I suppose the minister wanted me because I am a quite well-known person and I am not afraid of speaking my mind on sensible issues. The mission she got from Mr Borg was quite clear – Svenska Spel must be much Interview with Margareta Winberg, Chair Svenska Spel more responsible in its marketing and product development, maybe to calm down the opposition from EU and the danger of being forced to give up the present restrictive gaming legislation. - I did not know very much about Svenska Spel and its CSR and gaming responsibility strategy when I accepted this position in April, she admits and obviously Mr Borg had little clue of what has been done and what is going on at Svenska Spel. Now I have changed my view – I am impressed of the committed work for responsibility and gaming awareness by all staff at Svenska Spel and the retailer awareness. Given the mission I received I have of course focused on all matters concerning CSR and how Svenska Spel can still market the games it offers properly. It is also obvious that the links between the owner and the lottery must be improved. I think that I will have the ear of the minister more than the previous chair and that matters will be better from now on. Some people were hesitant to the appointment of Mrs Winberg as chair – they were afraid that there would be too much talk about responsibility which could harm sales but it seems that this is not the case. Maybe it has even been an advantage to have such a public person leading the organisation since media are very keen on quoting her whenever she speaks in public. And so she does very often. - Now, I always take the opportunity of praising Svenska Spel and its CSR activities – I realise that it has a top reputation in the global lottery world for its responsible program - and I hope that this message gradually gets across to politicians, journalists and the players, she says with emphasis. No other Swedish lottery chair person has been so well-known as Margareta Winberg, This also means that she gets many calls e.g. from problem gamblers so by now she is very much aware of the adverse side of our business but this in- 21 P AN RAMA formation she can use in her daily work which takes up much more of her time than she expected. An important task for her is to find a new CEO. - We are looking for a good leader who is flexible and has a good insight into politics, she says. However, this could take some time, there will be a state report on the lottery business due Mid-December which will indicate how the Government wants to handle number games, sports betting, charity lotteries, bingo halls, VLTs and casino in the future. Some politicians would favour that the Government only keeps the “dangerous games” such as casinos and gaming machines and opens up for license system for the other products. - The new CEO also has to settle in Visby. I don’t see that as a problem, Margareta Winberg says. The city is very attractive, so is the job – and it is on Gotland that we have our main office, she concludes. At the upcoming WLA congress in Rhodes she will have the opportunity to meet other people from the lottery world. – I am looking forward to learn more about this fascinating, different business, she says on her way to open the 17 th Spelakademi (Gaming Academy) in Visby, where she among other speakers will listen to Jean Jørgensen speaking on current legal cases and French consultant Mr Marco Lopinto about the new legislation in France. Interview by Göran Wessberg Senior Advisor to Svenska Spel
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