Svenska Spel successfully appeals SEK100 million penalty
Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, the digital arm of the state-owned Swedish gambling operator, has successfully appealed against an SEK100 million ($10.5 million) penalty fee and warning from regulator Spelinspektionen.
The Administrative Court in Linköping ruled in favour of Svenska Spel during a hearing Monday. The case related to charges brought against the operator’s digital arm in March last year.
In the original case, Spelinspektionen accused Svenska Spel of several shortcomings in player duty of care, which it said breached the country’s 2019 Gambling Act. Failures were identified during an investigation that ran from October to December 2021.
The regulator said Svenska Spel had failed to take sufficient measures to protect players against excessive gambling.
Among other things, Spelinspektionen realised concerns over how the operator handled 10 customers who had lost the most money during the supervision period. The regulator said Svenska Spel had failed to take sufficient measures to protect players.
The ruling has overturned the original Spelinspektionen warning and penalty fee.
Svenska Spel urges clarity on duty of care
The operator said it appealed because the penalty fee was “disproportionate in relation to the shortcomings” flagged by the regulator.
Fredrik Wastenson, Svenska Spel Sport & Casino CEO and business area manager, added: “There is a need to create greater clarity in the interpretation of the duty of care.”
Following its successful appeal, Svenska Spel called for changes in regulation on duty of care in Sweden. It said the current rules are not clear and operators continue to fall short due to this lack of clarity.
“We believe the authority may only take measures that are supported by the legal order, the so-called legality principle, which the court has also stated.”
However, while Svenska Spel was successful in the appeal, the case is not yet closed. It has acknowledged that Spelinspektionen can still appeal the latest ruling.
Three companies fined for AML failings
The ruling came on the same day that Spelinspektionen issued fines to three companies for anti-money laundering breaches.
Betsson Nordic was handed a warning and a fine of SEK6.5 million for deficiencies in its AML work in Sweden. Meanwhile, TSG Interactive, owned by Flutter Entertainment, was fined SEK7 million. Snabbare was also issued a sanction fee of SEK5.5 million.
These fines continued what has so far been a busy 2025 for the regulator. Last week, it announced fines for several charity and political organisations that operate lotteries for failing to control contractors, as well as marketing violations.
Spelinspektionen also fined Kindred’s subsidiary Spooniker SEK10 million for AML failings. Meanwhile, Videoslots was ordered to pay a sanction fee of SEK12 million for failing to counteract excessive gambling.