Global Gaming’s bad luck in Sweden continues as the company just lost another appeal of the revocation of its license in the Scandinavian country.
The Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, revoked Global Gaming’s license this past June, or six months after Sweden reorganized its online gambling market.
The regulator said back in June that its decision was prompted by serious shortcomings in the gambling operator’s anti-money laundering and know-your-customer practices. Spelinspektionen also ordered Global Gaming to suspend its operations in Sweden, including those of its flagship brand Ninja Casino.
The company appealed Spelinspektionen’s decision and sought to be allowed to resume operations, but its efforts failed in several Swedish courts. Most recently, the Administrative Court in Sweden dismissed Global Gaming’s appeal, ruling that the gambling regulator was right to revoke the operator’s license due to the seriousness of its violations of Swedish gambling laws and regulations.
In a statement on its official website, Spelinspektionen welcomed the Administrative Court’s ruling. The regulator further pointed out that in order to ensure that gambling services are provided in “a healthy and safe gaming market”, they must exclude those license holders that do not comply with “essential parts of the applicable regulations.”
Global Gaming was licensed to operate in the Swedish gambling market through its subsidiary SafeEnt Limited. SafeEnt’s local license was revoked on June 17, 2019.
Global Gaming Mulls Another Appeal
The CEO of Global Gaming, Tobias Fagerlund, said Tuesday that they were disappointed by the Administrative Court’s ruling and that they were examining the decision in detail. The company plans to appeal the latest ruling against its efforts to return to Sweden to the Administrative Court of Appeal, it also became known.
Sweden is one of Global Gaming’s most important markets and the Stockholm-listed company warned investors that its profitability would be severely hit as a result from the revocation of its license.
After losing its Swedish license, Global Gaming partnered gaming technology company Finnplay and transferred the NinjaCasino.se domain to its subsidiary Viral Interactive Ltd. The partnership between Global Gaming and Finnplay also brought to life a new Sweden-facing online casino brand.
In August, Viral Interactive debuted the NanoCasino operation. The Finnplay subsidiary, which holds a license from Spelinspektionen, is responsible for the operation of the new online casino, while Global Gaming participates as a marketing partner and assists its partner in matters related to promotion, customer experience, and brand management.
As for Ninja Casino, it recently became the subject of one more court action, with that one having to do its promotional activities in Sweden. The Swedish Consumer Ombudsman has slammed the brand for running afoul of the country’s gambling license requirement that obligates license holders to be ‘moderate’ in their advertising activity.
The legal action against Ninja Casino could finally bring clarity in what Swedish regulators consider moderate advertising after a number of locally licensed operators have pointed out that Sweden’s gambling advertising rules are somewhat vague.
Source: Global Gaming 555 AB – Appeal of license revocation rejected by the Administrative Court
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