Sweden’s regulator, Spelinspektionen, is doing everything it can to not let state operator Svenska Spel walk away from a SEK 100m ($9.3 m) penalty.
The gambling authority has lodged an appeal against a court ruling that sided with Svenska Spel in a case from over a year ago where the operator was accused of significant player protection failures.
Background
In March 2024, Spelinspektionen hit Svenska Spel with an unprecedented penalty after reviewing its duty of care policies and then constituting a breach of the Gambling Act 2019.
The investigation focused on 10 customers who, between October and December 2021, gambled a significant amount of money online that fit the profile of excessive gambling – something that even the court later agreed on.
Spelinspektionen’s conclusion stated that the operator had failed to implement sufficient player protection measures even when the indicators of problem gambling were clear to see.
Svenska Spel did not agree with the decision, maintaining that it has always acted in line with the guidelines established in Sweden’s gambling framework.
Fredrik Wastenson, CEO of Svenska Spel’s digital operations, commented at the time: “In its decision, the Swedish Gaming Authority makes a different assessment, which goes further than what can be deduced from the current regulations. We will now consider whether to appeal the decision.”
Operator keeps its word
Fast-forward to this June, not only that an appeal followed by Svenska Spel, but it was also a successful one.
The Administrative Court in Linköping acknowledged that there were indeed signs of excessive gambling, but that they were not a result of compliance failure from Svenska Spel that had breached duty of care regulations.
Wastenson immediately published a statement welcoming the ruling and using it as supporting evidence that the regulator had indeed stepped over the boundaries of its powers.
“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.”
Regulator launches counter-appeal
In the latest development, Spelinspektionen took a similar course of action, requesting a review of the Linköping Court’s decision from Sweden’s Court of Appeal.
The appeal argues that the Administrative Court’s interpretation of duty of care regulations is incorrect, and that the decision to uphold Svenska Spel’s appeal is at odds with previous court rulings on similar matters.
“All licensees must promptly take active measures to protect players against excessive gambling,” the regulator said.
“We believe Svenska Spel Sport & Casino has neither continuously followed up on the customers it has reviewed nor taken necessary and individualised measures to limit their gambling.
“We believe the Administrative Court has assessed Svenska Spel in a completely different way than other sanctioned licensees. As such, we are appealing the Administrative Court ruling to the Court of Appeal.”
It is yet to be seen whether the regulator’s appeal will be granted, or what Svenska Spel’s next course of action is.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our Telegram channel!
