A Swedish Administrative Court has rejected Global Gaming’s bid to be allowed to continue operating in Sweden, while its appeal of a recent decision by the local gambling regulator to revoke its license is under review.
In a ruling issued on Thursday, June 20, the Administrative Court of Linköping said that Global Gaming’s Sweden-facing subsidiary SafeEnt Ltd. must not be allowed to resume operations in the Scandinavian country over the course of the appeal process.
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, announced last Monday that it has revoked the operating license of SafeEnt after discovering serious deficiencies in the company’s social responsibility as well as KYC and anti-money laundering policies. SafeEnt, which operated the Ninja Casino and Spellandet online casino brands in the Swedish market, was ordered to immediately cease targeting local gamblers.
In a statement announcing its decision, Spelinspektionen said that it had found “serious and systematic shortcomings” in the operator’s risk assessment and KYC and that it had apparently allowed some of its customers to gamble excessively.
The socially responsible provision of gambling services as well as deploying effective anti-money laundering tools are part of the requirements Spelinspektionen’s licensees need to make sure to fulfill in order to be allowed to operate in the country.
Global Gaming’s Appeal
Global Gaming promptly appealed the regulator’s decision to revoke its license. The company said that it had been informed about the deficiencies Spelinspektionen had found and that it had assured the authority that the necessary measures would be taken in due time and manner.
The gambling operator told the Linköping Administrative Court that it did not believe its violations jeopardized customers’ health and that its operations did not carry risk of being used for money laundering. Global Gaming went on to say that the license revocation had caused “irreparable damage” to its business and that its “170 employees and approximately 6,000 shareholders are suffering every minute business cannot be conducted.”
Global Gaming expressed firm belief that a fine and a warning by Spelinspektionen would have been enough punishment for its violations.
The Administrative Court sided with Spelinspektionen, arguing that there was not enough evidence whether the necessary safeguards were in place and that it would be better if Global Gaming’s online casinos are not allowed to operate in Sweden, while its appeal was under review.
Global Gaming announced Thursday that it has moved to appeal the Administrative Court’s ruling. Commenting on the recent developments, Tobias Fagerlund, acting CEO of Global Gaming, said that the company was disappointed with the Administrative Court’s decision and that it hopes the Administrative Court of Appeal will come to a different decision regarding its Swedish operation.
In a separate round of news, it became known last week that Spelinspektionen has penalized another online gambling operator for violations of the rules that govern the Swedish gambling industry. The regulator has slapped a SEK700,000 fine on Lottoland for offering betting on the outcome of Eurojackpot and other lottery games without asking for permission from Svenska Spel, the local organizer of said games.
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