Svenska Spel CEO Resigns - 04-23-08

April 23 - Jesper Karrbrink, who heads the state-owned Swedish gambling company, Svenska Spel, announced yesterday that he was resigning from his post due to differences of opinion about how the operations should be managed.

In a statement, Karrbrink said: "It has become clear lately that my ideas about how Svenska Spel should be run don't agree with the image held by the owners. Therefore I have, in consultation with the board, come to an agreement that the best course of action in this situation is for the board to find a replacement for me."

At the beginning of this month, the owners of Svenska Spel appointed a new chairwoman for the board. It was obvious from the start that the views of the former Social Democratic Deputy Prime Minister, Margareta Winburg, were radically different from those held by Karrbrink.

The core issue seems to be in the different approaches to gambling that exist between the owners and Karrbrink. The latter was publicly criticized in a newspaper article earlier this week for his focus on promoting new products instead of citing the dangers of gambling addiction. In an interview, Winburg said: "Thus far, Svenska Spel's advertising has mostly focused on promoting new games, which is a way of telling people to gamble more. Svenska Spel has done a bad job when it comes to social responsibility."

In a statement issued after Karrbrink's resignation, Winburg said that she regretted his decision. A new CEO was already being sought and the company's treasurer Anders Haag would serve as temporary CEO for the time being.

Karrbrink, who has to sign a non-competitive clause valid for a year, will receive nearly half a million dollars, worth a full year's salary, in severance pay.

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