-
Casinos for you
Trio of Appeals Denied as Swedish Courts Back Spelinspektionen
By Shane Addinall Jul 13, 2022 LegalityIt took three courts to convince these operators of their wrongdoings, and three years later, the offenders must pay Spelinspektionen millions in Swedish Krona.When the Swedish Gambling Inspectorate penalised three operators in 2019, it did not expect a string of court cases would follow. All three of the operators appealed the Spelinspektionen’s findings through several cases at three of the country’s courts. A week ago, the highest order in the country’s justice system had the last word.
Betfair, Betway, and SkillOnNet must pay the penalties as imposed by the gambling authority, according to the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court. The ruling follows a string of court appeals, but despite the offenders’ best efforts, all supported the inspectorate’s findings.
The combined amount that Spelinspektionen is to receive from the trio is SEK 23.2 million (€2.17 million) after the Supreme Administrative Court decided not to grant their leave to appeal.
Appeal Denied
Spelinspektionen issued three separate fines to Betway, Betfair, and SkillOnNet over the course of two months in 2019. The warnings and penalties pertained to violations of the jurisdictional licensing conditions in Sweden, and offences ranged between underaged gambling, continuous bonus offers, and other prohibited player rewards.
Betway received a warning and penalty in May 2019, while SkillOnNet and Betfair were both penalised on 27 June 2019. The three companies opposed the regulator’s finding by appealing the penalties in Sweden’s Administrative Court.
One by one, the court ruled in favour of the regulator, although it partially sided with Betway and lowered their fine. The operators remained undeterred, and by the end of 2020, all three had appealed to the country’s Court of Appeal.
In June 2021, the Swedish Court of Appeal rejected the application from Betway and upheld the Spelinspektionen’s findings against Betfair but lowered the fine by SEK 1 million. The court dismissed SkillOnNet’s appeal in January 2022. Determined to win, the three operators call on the Supreme Administrative Court for leave to appeal their cases. This month, the Supreme Court released its final verdict on all three cases and agreed with the Court of Appeal. The operators must pay up.
The Violations
Spelinspektionen issued a warning and charged SkillOnNet with a SEK 14 m penalty because the operator contravened the country’s laws on specific gambling features. These included daily bonuses, monthly rewards, Free Spins, cashback, and VIP packages. The company also received criticism for organised online lotteries not covered by its licence.
Betfair received a warning and penalty on the same date for insufficient screening protocols. The company allowed underaged Swedes to participate in gambling on their website and received a SEK 4.5 m fine for this.
Spelinspektionen issued Betway’s penalty and warning a month prior to the others and penalised the operator with a SEK 5 m fine for continuous bonus offers that violate Swedish laws. The Administrative Court lowered the fine to SEK 4.7 m in line with the company’s annual turnover.
You might also like