Swedish gambling regulator warns Casino Cosmopol
Svenska Spel’s land-based casino brand will pay a SEK2m fine.
Sweden.- Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, has issued a SEK2m (€180,000) penalty and a warning against Svenska Spel’s Casino Cosmopol. It found that the land-based casino brand had breached anti-money laundering (AML) rules.
The regulator said that an investigation that it began in November 2021 found that Casino Cosmopol had failed in know-your-customer procedures. It also found “previous shortcomings” in relation to Sweden’s Money Laundering Act.
Casino Cosmopol accepted the findings but emphasised that they related to past issues. It noted that it has since introduced player registration for gaming machines and tables and lower thresholds for intervention. It said it had also improved staff training on AML measures and had increased the number of staff dedicated to monitoring.
It said: “Casino Cosmopol accepts the criticism. As the regulator says in its decision, during and after the supervision period, Casino Cosmopol implemented improvement measures. The regulator assesses that Casino Cosmopol will be able to comply with regulations going forward.”
CEO Ola Enquist said: “We have high ambitions for our work and have implemented new comprehensive tools and routines. For shortcomings not already remedied, we will take care of them. Money laundering is a serious social problem that must be combated in every way.”
In July, Svenska Spel announced that it would restructure its land-based gaming business after a drop in revenue in H1. The segment comprises the Casino Cosmopol venues and its Vegas slot machine operations.
Svenska Spel reported net gaming revenue of SEK 1.97bn (€170m) for H1, up slightly from SEK1.96bn in H1 2022. Online revenue was up by 9 per cent, now accounting for over half (52 per cent) of the company’s total. However, revenue from the land-based Casino Cosmopol chain and Vegas slot machine business fell by 13 per cent (down SEK29m) to a SEK52m loss.
