A report in Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has raised new questions on the position of government-owned gambling firm Svenka Spel. The report written by finance minister Anders Borg and his colleague Maria Larsson, Public Health minister, calls into question the high profile marketing campaign consistently used to entice gamblers to Svenka Spel. The report also criticizes the monopoly the state-owned firm has on the gambling industry, citing that it goes against European Commission (EC) principles of free trade.
Borg and Larssen called for a new report to examine the Swedish gambling market and the government's control over it. The issue is already under investigation by the EC as it fails to comply with the body's policy of encouraging and promoting the free movement of trade and services throughout Europe.
An enquiry into the current situation has been criticized for failing to address all the issues associated with the government monopoly. According to Tomas Tobe, a spokesman for the Moderate Party in the Swedish Parliament, “the proposal will do very little to appease the EU Commission and Sweden can expect a summons to the European Court of Justice and a subsequent conviction."

The report by Borg and Larsson also called into question the government's alleged lack of concern for social problems related to compulsive gambling. "Gambling addiction is on a par with alcoholism: an addictive behaviour that is very difficult to break," the ministers wrote.

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