Spelinspektionen has fined eight more online gambling operators for Swedish gambling law compliance failures, the regulator said today in a statement issued on its website.
The eight operators received a slap on the wrist by Sweden’s Gambling Authority for offering betting on sporting events that featured a majority of participants under the age of 18. Offering betting options on such events is prohibited under the new Swedish gambling law, which took effect this past January.
The eight penalized operators were imposed fines of different sizes, depending on the scope of their violations, and were warned by Spelinspektionen that they would face further regulatory action if they run foul of the agency in future.
Spelinspektionen said in its statement from earlier today that betting on sporting events where a predominant number of players are under the age of 18, such as U19 and U21 league fixtures, is strictly prohibited as the practice presents “direct danger to minors being exposed” to match-fixing. And the manipulation of sporting results is bad for Sweden’s gambling industry, the regulatory body further pointed out.
The Latest Batch of Errant Operators
Spelinspektionen revealed that after conducting a review of the operations of eight of its licensees, it has discovered that all of them have offered gambling on sporting events which featured a majority of players under the age of 18 on multiple occasions.
The Swedish Gambling Authority noted that all violations discovered were of serious nature and that it has decided to take due measures to sanction the actions of the eight errant operators.
The operators that were fined were:
- Betfair International plc, which operates the betfair.se website in Sweden. The company is part of the larger Flutter Entertainment group (formerly Paddy Power Betfair). Betfair was fined SEK5.5 million ($592,060) by Spelinspektionen.
- Bethard Group Limited, the operator of the bethard.se and bethard.com websites, among many others. The company was slapped a SEK2.5 million ($269,118) fine by Spelinspektionen.
- Casinostugan Ltd, the operator of casinostugan.com. It was fined SEK3.5 million ($376,765) for its violations of its license from the Swedish Gambling Authority.
- ElectraWorks Limited, a division of gambling group GVC Holdings, which operates the bwin.se website in Sweden. It was imposed a SEK5.5 million fine ($592,060).
- Hillside (Sports) ENC, the Sweden-facing arm of online gambling giant bet365. The operation was fined SEK10 million ($1.08 million) for failing to comply with Sweden’s gambling regulations.
- Polar Limited, which is represented by the coolbet.com website in the Swedish gambling market. It was slapped a SEK700,000 fine ($75,353) by the local regulator.
- TSG Interactive PLC, the operator of the PokerStars, Full Tilt, and BetStars online poker, casino, and sports betting brands. The company was fined SEK10 million ($1.08 million) for its violations.
- Zecure Gaming Limited, a subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group, which is licensed to run the guts.com, rizk.com, and thrills.com brands, among others, in Sweden. The operator was imposed a SEK3.5 million fine ($376,765) by Spelinspektionen.
As it can be seen, the Swedish gambling regulator fined some of the major players in the local and global online gambling scene for violating Sweden’s new rules for conducting betting and gaming services on the territory of the Scandinavian nation.
News about Spelinspektionen’s collective regulatory action arrived just days after it became known that the agency has fined SkillOnNet and a subsidiary of Betsson over violations of Sweden’s rules for offering bonuses and other incentives to local players.
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