Swedish Court Ruling Positively Affects Penalties of Several Gambling Brands

Article by : Milena Petrovska Jun 4, 2024

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Sweden’s Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of five gambling companies and, thus, reduced penalties sanctioned by Spelinspektionen (Swedish Gambling Authority).

The brands in question are Hajper Ltd, Snabbare Ltd, ComeOn Sweden Ltd, Casinostugan Ltd, and XC Gaming Sweden Ltd. Four of these brands were under the wing of the ComeOn Group.

Its operators were fined for bonus breaches, and their fines totaled SEK 165 million. XC Gaming was fined SEK5 million for breaches made in 2020.

According to the law, gambling entities that hold a license from Spelinspektionen can only offer bonuses on signup. The regulator and the country’s Administrative Court found the five brands guilty because they offered bonuses on numerous occasions.

Furthermore, they offered bonuses to customers who were potentially developing gambling harm.

The Reduced Fines Explained

Earlier in May, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) of Sweden delivered a verdict that stated all fines should be based on entities’ gross gaming revenue rather than 10% of the previous year’s turnover.

Thanks to the ruling, many operators that have already received fines got the opportunity to appeal the penalty amounts. Under the new way of calculating fines, a handful of decisions have been impacted already and new ones could appear.

For instance, XC Gaming’s fine was reduced to SEK 1.2 million, Casinostugan’s to SEK 8 million (originally SEK 25 million), and ComeOn Sweden’s to SEK 13 million (originally SEK 35 million).

Snabbare’s fine was reduced to SEK 24 million (originally SEK 65 million), and Hajper’s to SEK 14 million (originally SEK 40 million).

Penalty Changes for Mr Green Limited, Spooniker Ltd, and Hillside (Sports) ENC

The Court of Appeal has also made corrections on the penalties issued to three other iGaming brands.

The first one is Mr Green Limited, which the SGA decided to issue a warning with a penalty fee of SEK1.5 million. This penalty was due to shortcomings related to money laundering. The regulator also issued a warning with a penalty fee of SEK30 million for failure to fulfill its duty of care obligations. However, the latter penalty was reduced to SEK 12 million.

Spooniker Ltd. is the second company to receive a warning penalty fee from the SGA. This company initially received a fee of SEK100 million for providing bonuses and lotteries, but its fee was reduced to SEK 30 million.

The third company that received a notice and penalty fee change is Hillside (Sports) ENC. This entity offered betting services on a football match in which the majority of players were under 18 years of age. Its original fee was SEK 1 million, but it was reduced to SEK 400,000.

Under the new ruling, operators have effectively saved millions in penalties they were supposed to pay for various shortcomings.

The SGA Recommends Inclusion of Gambling Accounts in the Account and Safe Deposit System

Accessing the new section of the regulator’s website reveals a lot of movement.

Besides notifying the public about the warnings and penalty changes, the regulator has also informed about official recommendations.

The SGA fears that many gambling accounts are currently being used for money laundering or other criminal activities. Because of that, the regulator believes that gambling account information must be included in the account and safe deposit box system.

In the assessment, the SGA takes into account the strong connection between organized crime and money laundering in the iGaming industry. If the authorities access the system, they would receive data about the gambling accounts from licensed operators.

This would greatly improve the ability to prevent and investigate crime, as well as facilitate enforcement and taxation.