ATG has appointed Anna Romboli as chief executive, handing the former Svenska Spel executive the task of reviving growth at Sweden’s largest gambling operator. The board of AB Trav och Galopp confirmed the election as the horse racing totaliser firm works through a leadership transition that has run since early 2025.
Romboli will take charge in December. Until then, Jörgen Forsberg continues as interim CEO, a role he has held since the departure of Hasse Lord Skarplöth, who led ATG for more than a decade before stepping down in 2025. Skarplöth’s exit followed a stretch of flat performance and a public campaign against Sweden’s gambling tax regime.
Romboli arrives from state operator Svenska Spel, where she spent six years overseeing commercial development of the TUR business unit, which includes the Triss and Eurojackpot lottery products. Before that, she held senior roles at game developer NetEnt and innovation consultancy Veryday, with a record built around product development, customer engagement and digital transformation.
Her brief is straightforward to state and difficult to deliver. ATG holds its position as the country’s largest gambling operator, but its core horse-race wagering products have struggled to grow and its totaliser turnover has stagnated. Romboli is expected to broaden the appeal of race betting to mainstream audiences while lifting financial performance across a Swedish market that has shown only marginal growth.
ATG is owned by Svensk Travsport and Svensk Galopp, and its commercial results feed directly into funding for Sweden’s trotting and galloping sectors. That ownership structure ties the operator’s revenue to the financial health of the country’s racing ecosystem, including prize money and equine welfare programmes.
Commenting on her appointment, Romboli said she was entrusted with a company that carries weight in Swedish racing.
I am very happy and proud to be entrusted with leading ATG. It is a company with a strong history, many committed employees and a special significance for the Swedish horse industry. I look forward to continuing to develop the offering to our 1.4 million customers together with the employees and building on what makes ATG unique.
ATG Chairman Peter Norman pointed to Romboli’s commercial track record as the basis for the board’s decision.
Anna has extensive experience in the gaming industry and has shown over many years that she can develop both businesses and people. She is a leader who combines business acumen with great commitment and customer focus.
The tax question Romboli inherits
Romboli also inherits a tax fight that defined her predecessor’s final years. Sweden raised its gambling tax from 18% to 22% of gross gaming revenue in July 2024, a move Skarplöth repeatedly branded a “horse tax” on the grounds that ATG accounts for around 40% of the state’s gambling tax revenue. The operator reported lower profit in the quarters that followed, citing the higher rate.
ATG has since pushed for a differentiated model rather than a flat cut. Its proposal would lower the rate on horse betting to 18% while raising the tax on online casino and other verticals to 26%, an approach loosely modelled on recent UK reforms. The plan has drawn opposition from rival operators. In December 2025, thirteen senior executives from licensed operators including Betsson, LeoVegas, Entain and ComeOn signed a letter through industry body BOS urging the government to reject it, arguing that differentiated rates would distort competition and push online casino players toward unlicensed sites. ATG has also faced its own regulatory scrutiny in the Nordics over the same period.
Romboli to steer ATG’s Finnish entry
Beyond the domestic market, Romboli takes on ATG’s international expansion. The operator’s main growth project abroad is Hippos ATG, a joint venture with Finnish racing body Suomen Hippos that carries its racing and wagering model into Finland.
The venture is positioned as a test of whether ATG can export its expertise across borders and open new revenue streams for racing stakeholders. With Romboli’s start date set for December and the tax review still live in Stockholm, her first months will be measured against both the Finnish rollout and any movement on the rate ATG has spent two years contesting.
Source: ATG
