Industries we love and hate

Paf arranged a seminar on Wednesday 3 July in Visby in Sweden during Almedalsveckan. The seminar with the title “Industries we love and hate” was held aboard the Åland ship Michael Sars. The title of the seminar refers to the fact that gaming for most people is a popular pastime – while for some others gaming is a big problem.

Problematic revenue in the gaming industry

Paf’s CEO Christer Fahlstedt began the seminar by discussing problematic revenue in the gaming industry using Paf’s own figures as illustration. Earlier this year Paf openly revealed its revenue from its various customer groups – an initiative in openness that is unique in the gaming industry. The figures show that a small number of customers can account for a huge part of gaming revenue, which is unsustainable in the long run if the gaming industry is to become more widely accepted.

Voluntary limits are worthless

During the seminar, Christer Fahlstedt also presented research results from Stockholm University that show that voluntary gambling limits have no effect. Voluntary gaming limits have long been a cornerstone of gaming companies’ responsible gaming tools.

“This is an awful conclusion. It shows that one of the most common tools for responsible gaming – the one in which players set their own limits – is useless and does not work,” says Christer Fahlstedt.

The subsequent panel discussed issues related to the gaming industry led by the moderator Anna Helsen. The panel included, among others, Malin Sandquist, Director at Systembolaget, who was able to contribute with her experience from another much loved but also sometimes hated industry.

The participants in the panel were:

• Mats Perämaa, Minister of Finance for Åland
• Mattias Svensson, Chief Executive at Dagens Nyheter
• John Weinerhall, Swedish Member of Parliament
• Malin Sandquist, Director at Systembolaget
• Christer Fahlstedt, CEO of Paf
• Anna Helsen, Moderator