Swedish Government Owned Online Poker Turns Profit

The government-owned and -licensed online gaming company known as Svenska Spel AB has recently posted record profits of $685 million for 2006, and it owes its success in a large part to its online poker division. The company took over online poker in Sweden in an effort to move the Swedish population of online poker players from unregulated markets to a regulated one, which seems to be a popular idea as the site grows. Jesper Karrbrink, the CEO of Svenska Spel AB, calls his company's poker room "a responsible environment within the country's borders."