Swedish regulator appeals overturned $10.34 million penalty against Svenska Spel

Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, has appealed a recent court ruling that overturned a SEK100 million ($10.34 million) penalty levied against Svenska Spel Sport & Casino, the digital division of the state-owned gaming operator.

The appeal, filed with the Court of Appeal, challenges the Administrative Court in Linköping’s recent decision to annul the regulator’s March 2024 warning and financial sanction.

The original penalty stemmed from an investigation conducted between October and December 2021, which Spelinspektionen said uncovered failures by Svenska Spel to fulfil duty of care obligations under the country’s 2019 Gambling Act.

Key concerns included insufficient measures to protect players from excessive gambling, with the regulator highlighting ten high-spending customers who lost between SEK260,000 ($26,887) and SEK600,000 ($62,049) each over the two-month period. In several cases, the losses amounted to a large portion of the players' annual taxable income, and one of the individuals was described as being of a younger age.

While the court acknowledged evidence of excessive gambling, it ruled that the regulator had not adequately shown that Svenska Spel had breached its duty of care obligations in a way that justified regulatory action. Svenska Spel, in its defense, argued that the legal requirements for duty of care were unclear and described the SEK100 million fine as “disproportionate.”

The court incorrectly assumed that duty of care requirements in the act lack clarity, the regulator said in a statement. “All licensees must promptly take active measures to protect players against excessive gambling. Licensees must also continuously monitor extensive gambling and, if necessary, take measures at the same pace as the gambling occurs,” said the Spelinspektionen.

The regulator further criticized Svenska Spel’s actions during the supervision period, noting that its interventions primarily consisted of warnings and generic messages.
“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,” Spelinspektionen said.

“We believe the Administrative Court has assessed Svenska Spel in a completely different way than other sanctioned licensees,” it added. “As such, we are appealing the Administrative Court ruling to the Court of Appeal.”