In both Scandinavian and the German-speaking markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH), you will find the traditional lottery operators also offer customers the opportunity to buy and participate in the ever-increasing numbers of online lotteries, as well as online betting and poker.
These online monopolies actually account for over 20 per cent of the whole European online gambling market as it stands today.
Although popular in both markets, the proportion measured is much higher in the Scandinavian market than in the DACH region and in southern Europe.
Although both markets can be viewed as similar to the rest of the online gambling community, there are however a few minor differences between the two markets - values, products preferences and attitudes all differ.
Value: Both markets as a whole are viewed as higher value markets with huge potential in each, with many high-value customers that deposit and wager large amounts compared to many other countries. The player value is slightly higher in Scandinavia than the DACH market with the likes of Sweden and Norway driving up the average player value in the Nordics. The customer value in the DACH markets are also very strong, however, Swiss players in particular are very high value in general and this drives up the overall value for the DACH markets.
Preference: To some extent the game preferences are similar in both the Scandinavian and DACH markets. They both like to try new titles and slot releases, especially from NetEnt, which kind of reigns supreme in both markets. You could say that NetEnt, although a Swedish company, is just as popular in one market as it is in the other. There are however some specific preferences in each market. DACH players have an affinity for the classic games that can be found in land-based casinos. A prime example is Novomatic’s Book of Ra, which is extremely popular in all DACH markets.
Across Scandinavia, game preference is a bit more varied, however, titles with a connection to Scandinavian history and about the Norse Gods are extremely popular. For example, Vikings Go Wild from Yggdrasil appeals directly to the Scandinavian markets as games like this connect directly to their heritage. The likes of slot Taco Brothers is also extremely popular in Sweden, as Mexico and Mexican themes are very popular with Swedes at the moment and it homes in on traditions the Swedish like to take part in, such as Taco Fridays, which is celebrated throughout Sweden and in other parts of Scandinavia. Norwegian customers go crazy for joker-themed games and the Danes love games with jackpots, as a whole.
Attitude: There is a growing appetite for online gaming in both markets. Although there is not a huge gambling culture as one might see in the UK, with a betting shop on every high street, the attitude towards gambling is changing especially among younger generations in both markets. It is starting to be more acceptable to bet on a regular basis in both the Scandinavian and DACH markets.
The German market is mainly dominated by online sports betting with the likes of football, handball and tennis among the most popular sports. Online casino is also growing but has some way to catch up on the dominance of the sportsbooks. Casino is more popular in the Scandinavian markets when compared with its DACH counterparts. This can be seen from the rapid growth in recent times of the likes of LeoVegas, Rizk and Casumo online casino lobbies.
Slots and table games will almost definitely win over sportsbook across the world of online gambling but, within these two markets, this is the biggest difference - DACH preferring sports while Scandinavia tends to favour casino.
