Like Santa, the Swedish Gaming Authority has a list of naughty and nice online casinos. Only in this instance, an operator on the naughty list will receive a heavy fine in its stocking, not a lump of coal.
As we head towards the holiday season, online gambling regulators worldwide have been actively addressing a multitude of missteps by licensees. The most common issues appear to be marketing gambling to the wrong demographics, not fulfilling their duty of care and insufficient anti-money laundering (AML) processes.
Multi-Million Operator Fining Spree
In response to the recent rash of failures in the AML department, Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling oversight body, handed out fines amounting to €1.75 million (SEK 18.9 million) to three licensed operators.
Commenting on the fines, the regulator said:
“According to the Act on measures against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, gambling companies must prevent their operations from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorism.”
The three online gambling sites that did not make Swedish Gambling Authority’s nice list this time around were:PinBet – Fined a total of €185,000 (SEK 2 million)
The regulator was not interested in the defence that operators could only sometimes tell when a player or group of players was acting with ill intentions. Their response was simply that as part of the licensing agreement, the casino undertakes to "obtain enough information to be able to assess and manage the risks” of their players.
What Lies Ahead in the New Year?
For the most part, when it comes to fines and other punitive measures, we see stories of online casinos and betting sites that have transgressed in some fashion. However, this could change in 2023 as Sweden’s Culture Committee (Riksdag) has agreed to move ahead with a review that could see the country introduce a B2B licensing system for gaming software developers.
Commenting on this amendment to the legislation, the SGA said:
“Unlicensed game operators must not be able to use suppliers who manufacture, provide, install and/or change game software for game operators who have a licence in Sweden.”
This new legislation could have widespread ramifications for game providers as while they currently license their games to operators worldwide, they would now be limited to trading with SGA-approved operators.
Considering thousands of casinos are licensed in Curacao, Kahnawake and other regions that do not comply with Swedish regulations, it could result in providers exiting the region rather than seeing them apply for a license that limits the scope of their operations.
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