The Swedish Administrative Court has made a final ruling on a penalty against the gambling content provider Hacksaw Studios, ordering it to pay a fine of 20,000 Swedish Kronor (approximately $2,037), which is significantly lower than the initial 2.6 million Kronor proposed by the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen).
The case originated in January 2024, when Spelinspektionen discovered that several unlicensed operator platforms were offering Hacksaw Studios' gaming products, violating the provisions of the Swedish Gambling Act regarding licensed operations.
Initially, based on legal authority and the company's revenue and net sales, Spelinspektionen proposed a potential maximum fine of up to 4.34 million Kronor, and eventually recommended a fine of 2.6 million Kronor.
However, Hacksaw Studios objected, emphasizing that it had technically implemented geoblocking to prevent its games from being accessed in unlicensed markets. The company stated that although some unauthorized platforms might have obtained its games, users could not access the content without proper licensing.
Hacksaw Studios also added that developers cannot be fully responsible for the actions of all downstream operators, nor can they completely prevent some operators from circumventing regulations and providing their content to non-compliant markets.
The case was subsequently appealed to the Swedish Administrative Court. The court confirmed in its ruling that the Gambling Act indeed applied to this case, and that the violation had occurred, making the issuance of a warning reasonable. However, the court also recognized that considering Hacksaw Studios had proactively implemented geoblocking measures before the incident and cooperated with regulatory investigations, the originally proposed fine should be significantly reduced.
The final ruling amount was 20,000 Kronor.
It is worth mentioning that the Swedish Gambling Authority itself has also been under scrutiny recently. The National Audit Office pointed out that it has not met expectations in enforcement execution and regulatory efficiency. In response, Spelinspektionen has announced measures to optimize internal processes and enhance regulatory capabilities.
