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Pontus Lindwall
President & CEO, Betsson

Gaming in the Nordics 2026 - The industry's perspective, Pontus Lindwall

📅 Jul 21, 2026 Gaming in the Nordics 14 MIN 3 VIEWS 17 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS

What Pontus Lindwall said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Pontus Lindwall, CEO of Betsson, presented the operator's view on Nordic gaming regulation. He argued that all five Nordic markets share the goal of keeping play in a safe licensed market but take different paths. He praised Denmark's balanced regulation and high channelization, while criticizing Sweden's 70% channelization and rigid Spelpaus blocking system. He expects Finland's new licensing regime on July 1, 2027, and predicts Iceland may regulate within two years. Lindwall emphasized that high channelization requires a competitive product, meaningful safeguards, and real enforcement, and warned that over-restriction pushes players to unlicensed sites. He cited Betsson's exits from the UK and Germany due to high taxes and over-regulation, and called for cooperation among operators, regulators, suppliers, banks, and public health.

Key takeaways

  1. Sweden's channelization is around 70%, which Lindwall calls a big failure for the regulator.
  2. Finland's new licensing regulation is expected on July 1, 2027.
  3. Betsson has exited the UK and Germany due to high taxes and over-regulation.
  4. Iceland currently has 0% channelization, with regulation possibly coming in two years.

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
70% Sweden's channelization rate metric 4:35
1 July 2027 Expected start of Finland's new licensing regulation timeline 6:20
0% Iceland's channelization rate metric 7:18
2% Share of people who experience gambling problems at some point metric 1:55
€10 Example bet size for social players during World Cup other 4:35

Chapters

  1. 0:00Nordic regulatory landscape overview
  2. 1:55Denmark's balanced regulation
  3. 4:35Sweden's channelization failure
  4. 6:20Finland's upcoming licensing
  5. 7:18Iceland's unregulated market
  6. 9:25What makes good gaming regulation
  7. 12:05State aid and competitive neutrality
Moderator 0:00 ↗
From Denmark. We are going to another Nordic market. We're going to Sweden, my home country. And to give the industry's perspective from Sweden, today we have found Pontus Lindwall, and Pontus is the CEO of Betsson, a well-known gambling company from Sweden. And if you are ready, Pontus.
Pontus Lindwall 0:30 ↗
Thank you all. There's the microphone.
Moderator 0:35 ↗
There you go.

4 more exchanges in this transcript

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Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX
APA

Lindwall, P. (2026, July 21). Gaming in the Nordics 2026 - The industry's perspective, Pontus Lindwall [Interview transcript]. Gaming in the Nordics. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1113011/

MLA

Pontus Lindwall. "Gaming in the Nordics 2026 - The industry's perspective, Pontus Lindwall." Gaming in the Nordics, 21 Jul. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1113011/.

BibTeX
@misc{lindwall2026_1113011,
  author       = {Pontus Lindwall},
  title        = {Gaming in the Nordics 2026 - The industry's perspective, Pontus Lindwall},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, Gaming in the Nordics. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {jul},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1113011/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}