Swedish gambling regulator hits Satoshi Gaming Group with banning order
Spelinspektionen says the company offered online gambling without a licence.
Sweden.- The Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen has prohibited Satoshi Gaming Group from operating in the country, after determining that it had offered online gambling without possessing the required license. The ban is effective immediately.
Spelinspektionen’s main gripe is with the website Trustdice.win, which is operated by Satoshi Gaming under a Curaçao gaming licence. The regulator found that Trustdice.win was accessible in Sweden, allowing users to create accounts despite lacking local authorisation. It said the site had specifically targeted Swedish users by publishing terms and conditions in Swedish and using Swedish-language marketing distributed by affiliates.
In February, Satoshi Gaming claimed to have blocked Swedish players, but a subsequent investigation by Spelinspektionen found that although the site was inaccessible from the regulator’s IP address, it could still be accessed via a different address. Satoshi Gaming pledged additional measures, including the removal of all Swedish-language text, but no timeline was provided.
Spelinspektionen concluded that Satoshi Gaming had breached the Swedish Gambling Act, noting that as of April 10, it had yet to cease operations within Sweden despite assurances that it would do so. Consequently, it has issued a formal ban with immediate effect. Although Satoshi Gaming has been ordered to halt operations within Sweden, no financial penalty has been issued for now.
The regulator said: “We consider that, in the interests of consumer protection and to guarantee gaming safety, it is important that the decision is complied with immediately. The decision shall therefore apply immediately.”
Fines for two licensed operators
Spelinspektionen recently issued fines against Glitnor Services and LeoVegas’ Roar Vegas over breaches of their duty of care. Both operators argued that they found the regulator’s requirements for “intrusive” player intervention to be unclear.
In the case of Roar Vegas, the regulator issued a warning and a fine of SEK8m (€737,200) after a supervision check found that the company had not intervened quickly enough to stop the excessive gambling of three customers. Two of the customers were younger gamblers aged 18 to 24. Roar Vegas did eventually intervene, taking effective measures, but the regulator said it should have taken action sooner.
