Svenska Spel Sport & Casino has opted for a rebrand, renaming its horse games to Svenska Spel Hästar following a legal dispute with ATG concerning the former’s trotting venture.
Despite the adjustment, the Swedish operator assures customers that the transition will bring about no disruptions beyond the change in name. On January 25, the Patent and Market Appeal Court sided with AGT, prompting the need for the name change.
Fredrik Wastenson, CEO and business area manager of Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, assured customers, saying, “For our customers, this means no changes apart from the name change. We are proud of our fantastic offer on horses, which will be available just like before, but now under Svenska Spel Hästar. We think it is strange that the court considers that descriptive words for a business can have such high protection, but obviously we respect the court’s decision.”
In a related event, Svenska Spel announced plans to close Casino Cosmopol in Gothenburg and Malmö earlier this week due to profitability issues resulting from declining visitor numbers. Driven by market reregulation in 2019 and the subsequent pandemic, the ongoing shift to online casino gaming has had a substantial impact on land-based casinos. Following its financial difficulties, Casino Cosmopol underwent restructuring, which included shortened hours of operation and employee layoffs, but the losses continued and eventually resulted in the casino’s collapse.
In spite of these press reports and what has clearly been a challenging week for Svenska Spel, the company is optimistic about the rebranded Svenska Spel Hästar and is committed to offering customers a thorough trotting experience.
