Key points:
- Spooniker to pay SEK 30m ($2.74m) penalty fee
- Mr Green to pay a combined SEK 13.5m penalty fee
The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has given a warning to Spooniker and Mr Green, ordering them to pay SEK 30m ($2.74m) and SEK 13.5m in fines respectively.
Regarding Spooniker, the decision has been taken by the authority after its assessment found the Kindred Group subsidiary had provided a number of unauthorised bonuses and unauthorised lotteries which were not covered by its license. This case has been going on for some time now, with Spelinspektionen first making a decision in March 2020 when the sanction fee was set at SEK 100m, with this being appealed by Spooniker.
Good to know: Swedish-licensed gambling companies generated SEK 6.66bn in turnover during the third quarter of this year
While the Administrative Court agreed with the regulator’s assessment, it did disagree with one aspect relating to a campaign called Recruit a Friend, which it believed was not a bonus, reducing the fine to SEK 50m.
However, this judgement was appealed to the Court of Appeal by the subsidiary which led the Court of Appeal to reduce the penalty fee further, to SEK 30m, taking into account the Supreme Administrative Court’s guiding ruling on how penalty fees should be calculated.
Though Spooniker once again appealed the decision, the Supreme Administrative Court ultimately decided not to grant leave to appeal, meaning the warning and penalty fee of SEK 30m was upheld.
Meanwhile, Mr Green received a warning for anti-money laundering and duty of care deficiencies, being charged with sanction fees of SEK 1.5m and SEK 12m respectively for the two breaches. The Supreme Administrative Court has also decided to not grant leave to appeal. The decision followed an appeal to the Administrative Court which was denied, and an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal, which reduced the duty of care deficiency charge.
In other news from Sweden, the country last week announced its decision to join the Macolin Convention to help in the combatting of international match-fixing.
