iGaming has two decades of evolution behind it. From an online payment solution developed by two Irish brothers in their parents’ Dublin basement in the mid-1990s, it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry today. The online gambling industry has been growing exponentially in recent years, with many companies vying for a share of the market. Among these companies are several Swedish iGaming brands that have made a name for themselves in the industry.
Evolution Gaming
The idea of live dealer casino games was around since the mid-1990s but technology only caught up to the innovators’ imagination about a decade later – around the time Evolution was founded by Richard Hadida, Jens von Bahr, and Fredrik Osterberg.
Evolution Gaming dedicated its efforts to the creation and B2B distribution of live dealer casino games to its partners – which grew more and more numerous over time. Slowly, live dealer games became some of the most sought-after forms of iGaming, allowing Evolution to grow.
Today, Evolution offers RNG and live dealer games, encompassing well-known brands like NetEnt, Ezugi, Red Tiger, and Big Time Gaming, and has a market value of over $25 billion.
Betsson
Another major Swedish iGaming brand, this time in the B2C marketplace, is Betsson. Founded in 1963 by Bill Lindwall and Rolf Lundström, the company initially provided slot machines to Swedish restaurants. In the 1990s, it turned its focus toward iGaming, developing and acquiring several brands focused especially on the Nordic market.
Chances are, if you search for “casinon med snabba uttag” online, you’ll stumble upon one of Betsson’s brands. Betsson currently has licenses in 21 countries from all over the world and has a market cap of around 12 billion kroner, or around $1.15.
Kindred Group
Another veteran in the iGaming business, Kindred Group was founded by Anders Ström as Unibet, in his flat in London. Originally, the brand was focused on the UK betting market, and expanded to Sweden only later.
Unibet has expanded to several other countries, and engulfed several brands, from Bingo.com to Maria Casino, popular in the Nordic countries. Today, it offers B2C gaming services in most of Europe and North America, as well as B2B services via Kambi, its online and retail betting platform.
Kindred has a market cap of around 25 billion kroner, or around $2.4 billion.
LeoVegas AB
LeoVegas is not a standalone company but a subsidiary – but it’s still one of Sweden’s and the world’s best-known and largest iGaming brands. The company is a newcomer, founded by Gustaf Hagman and Robin Ramm-Ericson in 2011. It was among the first iGaming companies to go “mobile-first” which, considering the massive growth of smartphone usage at the time, was a great idea: the popularity of LeoVegas exploded, instantly pushing it among the top iGaming operators. In the following years, it continued to expand in new jurisdictions and areas, covering everything from betting to eSports. Finally, in 2022, LeoVegas became part of MGM Resorts International.
In conclusion
The Swedish iGaming industry has produced some of the most successful and innovative companies in the online gambling world, from Evolution Gaming’s live dealer games to LeoVegas’ brave mobile-first approach. This, along with the many game development studios present on their market, makes Sweden one of the true iGaming powerhouses of the world.
