Spelinspektionen hands down $28,000 fine to Yggdrasil

The Swedish Gaming Authority has targeted Yggdrasil Gaming Limited and handed down the supplier a SEK300,000 ($28,000) fine, citing possible breaches of the company’s license in the country. The Spelinspektionen, as the regulator is known in Swedish, alleges that Yggdrasil has provided its products to an operator that targeted the country’s iGaming market without the necessary license.

Since July 1, 2023, Sweden specifically changed its law, putting the onus on suppliers and studios to ensure that their products are not used by unauthorized gambling websites in the country. This change required re-certification with companies accepting the responsibility, although there is significant hardship in ensuring that all partners are sticking to the letter of the law.

For one, suppliers such as Yggdrasil work with hundreds of operators, and even if one is in the wrong, the company’s license and reputation may suffer as a result. Another compounding matter is the fact that some operators may insist that they had not targeted the Swedish market, but were unjustly blamed by the regulator, much like has been happening in the Netherlands.

However, Spelinspektionen argues that the law must be observed, as the new licensing regime is designed to ensure that channelization into the regulated market remains high at a time when industry bodies have signalled that the percentage of players heading to the licensed market is shrinking. Spelinspektionen has already been able to analyze a number of websites that are said to be operating without a license in the country.

Yggdrasil, however, is the first company to have received an official penalty over the matter as part of the new regulatory framework. The company has also been given a warning. The penalty amount is based on Yggdrasil’s net sales for 2023, with the possible amount to be awarded as a penalty under the law ranging from a minimum of SEK5,000 to up to SEK580,000, with Spelinspektionen deciding to set the penalty in the middle.

The maximum allowable amount of the fine also indicates that Spelinspektionen is somewhat aware of the difficulty of tracking whether hundreds of websites have indeed been paying close attention to what markets they are regulated in. Yet, the watchdog is adamant about protecting consumers at home.

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