Paf has acquired Bell Casino AB, a Swedish family-owned business operating gaming entertainment across more than 50 European ferry routes. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction was effective 1 June 2026.
Fleet Expands to Around 80 Vessels
The deal nearly triples Paf’s shipboard presence. Paf currently operates gaming on 26 vessels, primarily across Baltic and North Sea routes. Bell Casino runs gaming on routes linking Sweden with Germany, Poland, the Baltic states, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. The combined network will operate approximately 1,500 gaming machines and 450 arcade games across around 80 vessels.
Bell Casino AB retains its brand and business model under Paf ownership. All 28 employees will be kept on. Founder Morgan Eliasson, who built the business over more than five decades, moves to a senior adviser role. His son Marcus Eliasson continues as CEO.
Rationale: Geography and Scale
Paf chief executive Christer Fahlstedt described the deal as “strategically important for our Land & Ship business, as it gives us the right conditions to continue developing our operations over the long term.”
Lasse Danielsson, chief operating officer for Paf’s Land & Ship division, said the two businesses complement each other both geographically and commercially.
“This takeover creates scale advantages when investing in modernisation and new technology. It provides the right foundation to continue investing and growing in the years ahead.”
The geographic fit is direct. Paf’s existing network runs through the Baltic and North Sea. Bell Casino adds routes along the North Sea’s western edges and extends into UK and Irish Sea coverage, a part of the map entirely outside Paf’s current reach. The acquisition joins two networks that work as complements rather than duplicates.
On scale, the 80-vessel combined operation gives Paf greater purchasing power for gaming machines and technology, and a broader base across which to spread investment in modernisation. Danielsson has been explicit on this point as the primary operational case for the deal.
Bell Casino: Five Decades of Family Ownership
Morgan Eliasson founded Bell Casino in 1973, building the business under family ownership for over 50 years. His son Marcus joined and moved into the CEO role, making this effectively a second-generation handover. Both will remain engaged after the transaction.
“Naturally, there is a sense of nostalgia in handing over a company that I have helped build since the very beginning. At the same time, I feel both reassured and confident about the future when Bell is a part of the Paf Group.”
The decision to retain the Bell Casino brand reflects the operator relationships Bell has built with ferry companies across its routes over five decades. Running both businesses under separate names allows Paf to maintain continuity on Bell’s routes while managing integration.
Land & Ship Revenue Returns to Growth
The acquisition follows Paf’s Q1 2026 results, which showed Land & Ship revenue up 3% year-on-year. Fahlstedt described it as the first increase in the segment in a long time. The deal arrives as Paf works to build on that return to growth in physical gaming, a segment it frames as distinct from its online gaming strategy.
The broader Scandinavian market has been under pressure. Sweden reported only marginal gambling revenue growth in Q3 2025, with the online segment driving what performance there was while land-based channels continued to struggle. The picture has been similar across other Nordic operators, where tax increases and shifting player habits have weighed on physical gaming results.
Paf, headquartered in the Åland Islands and founded in 1966, is a publicly owned operator whose profits are distributed to social causes rather than shareholders. Its Land & Ship division has been central to the business from the start, with ferry gaming partnerships spanning the Baltic for decades. The Bell Casino deal is the most significant expansion of that segment in recent years.
Earlier this year, Paf reduced its annual player loss limit to €15,000, down from €16,000 the previous year and half the €30,000 ceiling in place in 2018. The company has also committed to eliminating revenue from players losing between €15,000 and €30,000 annually, a group it classifies as “high intensity” players. How those commitments extend to Bell Casino’s onboard operations has not been confirmed.
Source: Paf
