The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has issued warnings to Spooniker and Mr Green, demanding they pay fines of 30 million Swedish kronor ($2.74 million) and 13.5 million Swedish kronor respectively.
Regarding Spooniker, the decision was made after the authority found that the Kindred Group subsidiary had offered a large number of unauthorized bonuses and lotteries (which were not covered under its license). This case has been ongoing for some time, with Spelinspektionen first making a decision in March 2020, initially setting the sanction fee at 100 million Swedish kronor, which Spooniker appealed.
It is worth noting: Licensed gambling companies in Sweden had a turnover of 6.66 billion Swedish kronor in the third quarter of this year.
Although the Administrative Court agreed with the regulator's assessment, it did have a differing opinion on one aspect of the "Recruit a Friend" campaign, considering it not a reward, thus reducing the fine to 50 million Swedish kronor.
However, the subsidiary appealed the decision, and the Court of Appeal, taking into account the Supreme Administrative Court's guiding ruling on how to calculate fines, further reduced the fine to 30 million Swedish kronor.
Despite Spooniker appealing the decision again, the Supreme Administrative Court ultimately decided not to grant the appeal, meaning the warning and the 30 million Swedish kronor fine were upheld.
Meanwhile, Mr Green was warned for anti-money laundering and insufficient due diligence violations, and was fined 1.5 million Swedish kronor and 12 million Swedish kronor for these violations respectively. The Supreme Administrative Court also decided not to grant an appeal. This decision was made after an appeal to the Administrative Court was rejected, and after the charge of insufficient due diligence was reduced following an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal.
Other news from Sweden includes: Last week, the country announced its decision to join the Macolin Convention to help combat international match-fixing.
