UK betting group Ladbrokes is set to challenge the Swedish government's monopoly on betting by applying to operate its own online poker service in the country.

In January the Swedish government issued an online poker licence to state-owned operator Svenska Spel, making it the first government operated poker site in the world.

Now Ladbrokes has launched an attempt to end Svenska Spel's monopoly of online poker by applying for a licence of its own.

There is little indication to suggest the bid will or will not succeed, although under EU law European governments are obliged to permit free and fair competition unless it were to have serious social implications.

However, in this instance there appear to be not great consequences to opening up the online gaming market to competition, leading many to speculate that Ladbrokes will be successful in their bid.

"We hope the Swedish government refer to European law when considering our application... If our application is rejected, we will consider legal action," Ladbrokes eGaming managing director John O'Reilly said.

Ladbrokes move is just part of a wider trend of deregulation of the online gaming market.
Norway's betting laws have been referred to the European Free Trade Area court in Luxembourg, while on March 30th German states were ordered to introduce new laws by the end of 2007.