The channelisation report for Q4 from Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) shows that channelisation rates in Sweden are still becoming worse.
 ATG Sweden ATG's research said that between 69% and 82% of people in Sweden played games during the fourth quarter.  This is a long way from the Swedish government's goal of 90% channelisation to legitimate operators.

 Since the third quarter of 2023, the channelisation rate has gone down.  ATG thinks there isn't much evidence that the trend will stop.

 ATG observed that the number of people visiting unregistered operators has grown threefold since 2019.  The study also shows that 19 of the 20 unlicensed sites with the most visitors in Q4 used the same platform suppliers as licensed operators.

 Also, none of the 20 black-market sites listed in the investigation were on the banned list of the Swedish authority Spelinspektionen.

 "It's a very worrying development, and our investigation shows that more needs to be done to keep the unlicensed companies away," said ATG CEO Hasse Lord Skarplöth.  "Unlicensed gambling is the biggest threat to the Swedish gambling market and the people who have gambling problems."

 ATG asks Swedish banks for support
 Sweden  ATG players in Sweden can still utilise bank accounts to put money in and take money out for illegal betting.
 Seven of the twenty illegal sites with the most traffic in Q4 allowed users to deposit and withdraw money directly from a Swedish bank account.  People who play on the black market can utilise the identity verification service BankID with the payments provider Krofort.

 Skarplöth has asked Swedish banks to stop these kinds of transactions and instead send people to the legal market.

 Skarplöth said, "It doesn't make sense that the Swedish Gambling Authority and banks put strict anti-money laundering rules on us licensed gambling companies while at the same time watching unlicensed gambling companies."

 The problem with Europe's black market

 Germany is one of the countries that has the most problems with the black market.
 Some European countries are good at channelisation, but Germany and France are having a hard time with the black market.

 A study from the University of Leipzig in 2023 revealed that about half of all internet gambling in Germany is done with operators who don't have a licence.

 The study found that the illicit market makes up almost three-quarters of Germany's online sales.  Because of this, the government misses out on hundreds of millions of euros in tax revenue.

 At a conference in October, it was reported that Germany's licensed operators are under more pressure from the black market than they have ever been.

 In France, on the other hand, the country's gaming regulator, l'Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), said that the illegal gambling market in the country was valued up to €1.5 billion (£1.28 billion/$1.62 billion).  This would be more than 10% of the total amount of money bet in the country each year.

 PwC did the investigation and found that illegal gambling makes between €748 million and €1.5 billion in gross gaming income.  This would account for 5% to 11% of France's total gambling market, which was worth a record €12.9 billion in 2022.

 ATG's net profit for FY2023 goes up
 ATG Sweden: ATG Sweden's net profit went up despite problems in the Swedish market.
 ATG's net profits for the 2023 financial year rose 7.5% from the previous year to SEK1.45bn (£111.2m/€129.9m/$140.9m), even though there were worries about channelisation rates in Sweden.

 The group's total revenue fell slightly to SEK6.04 billion, although net gaming revenue rose by 0.9% to SEK5.27 billion.

 Skarplöth added, "I'm proud of the numbers for 2023."  "ATG grew when the whole gambling market was at or near zero."