Politicization of Svenska Spel Continues with Appointment of New C.E.O.

Nine months after Jesper Kärrbrink resigned as chief executive of Svenska Spel A.B., Sweden's gambling monopoly has a new C.E.O. that one industry insider thinks will be more manageable than her commercially aggressive predecessor.

Meta Persdotter, former chief executive of the home décor retailer Duka A.B., was appointed last Friday to helm Svenska Spel during a time when debate rages over Sweden's future as an Internet gambling jurisdiction.

Last month, the Swedish government released a report detailing how the country may proceed with amending its existing regulatory regime, but the report's recommendations -- or lack thereof -- did not go over well with the commercial industry.

Ms. Persdotter, meanwhile, is without experience in the gambling industry, and according to a member of Sweden's Internet gambling sector, her appointment signals the further politicization of one of Europe's more commercially adventurous monopolies.

"I think we might see a development where Svenska Spel becomes more of a political instrument," Lasse Dilschmann, chief executive of Ladbrokes Scandinavia, told IGamingNews Tuesday. "The former C.E.O., Jesper Karrbrink, was as far away from an instrument as you could possibly get."

Indeed, Mr. Kärrbrink's ambitions reached as far as pooling some of Svenska Spel's products -- like online poker -- with those of other members of the World Lottery Association and the European Lotteries and Toto Association.

Those ambitions, however, were shelved after the country's coalition government, the Alliance for Sweden, installed Margerita Winberg, a former deputy primer minister of Sweden and prominent member of the Social Democratic Party, as chair of Svenska Spel in April.

One week after Ms. Winberg's appointment, Mr. Kärrbrink abruptly left his post as the two were at loggerheads over which operational philosophy -- commercially aggressive or socially responsible -- would underlie the company's public image going forward.

Ola Wiklund, a partner with the Swedish law firm Wistrand, called Ms. Winberg's appointment then "a clever move" that would buy the Alliance coalition valuable political capital from their rival, the Social Democractic Party, ahead of the 2010 general election.

Mr. Dilschmann expects that under Ms. Persdotter's watch, now, Svenska Spel is likely to scale back its marketing and make less aggressive its commercial strategy.

Although Ms. Winberg hinted in July that some form of commercial expansion may yet be in the cards, Mr. Dilschmann suggested that the loss of Mr. Kärrbrink and other senior managers has sapped Svenska Spel of valuable gambling know-how.

"I think the management team of Svenska Spel is extremely weak in competence when it comes to gaming, because they have lost most of their senior management when Jesper left," he said. "Margareta Winberg, who appears to be running the show now, has no experience whatsoever in gaming, so that will probably be the major hurdle for them."

Andreas Jannson, communications director for Svenska Spel, did not respond to an after-hours e-mail and phone call seeking comment Tuesday.