Svenska Spel takes SEK100m hit from Swedish Gaming Authority

Svenska Spel has been hit with one of the toughest financial penalties in Sweden with Spelinspektionen, as the Swedish Gaming Authority is known in the country, awarding a SEK100m fine to the operator, or roughly €8.7m, citing shortcomings in the company’s responsible gambling procedures.

The breaches have to do with the duty of care as outlined by the country’s Gambling Act, and names 10 customers who lost money while Svenska Spel was under regulatory review. Spelinspektionen began its monitoring of the operator back in December2021, and found that the 10 customers in question should have been flagged by the operator.

At least nine of these gamblers fitted the highest risk profile for problem gambling, the regulator explained in its detailing of the case shared on the watchdog’s official website. The red flags should have been evident to Svenska Spel, the regulator noted, as the bulk of the customers had high deposit limits and recorded large losses, but also continued to deposit similarly large amounts.

Two of the customers in question had also self-excluded in the past. Svenska Spel responded that it had engaged with the customers and reminded them to play responsibly, but the regulator had determined that Svenska Spel should have done much more in the matter and acted sooner.

The operator did resort to some robust and tested methods, such as calls to at-risk customers, but Spelinspektionen said that these measures came too late to be effective given the circumstances. As a result, Svenska Spel had not undertaken sufficient measures to protect consumers during the period between October and December 2021 when the offenses were recorded, the regulator insisted.

Svenska Spel has taken the penalty in stride and said that it has significantly improved its responsible gambling practices since 2021 and continues to ensure that it does fairly by customers, checking their income, gambling habits, and other potential red flags that could be a sign of a deeper problem.

Svenska Spel is now suspending players whom it cannot reach to offer help and assistance. However, Svenska Spel has also pointed out that it uses an evidence-based approach to monitor for excessive gambling markers and it had a robust system in place.

Svenska Spel is not entirely sure about what its next course of action regarding the penalty would be, but the company may consider to indeed appeal the fine, details about which will be coming at a later time if and when the company finds it appropriate.

Image credit: Svenska Spel