Swedish regulator announces compliance probe into major gambling operators
State-run Svenska Spel and the horseracing betting operator ATG are both being investigated.
Sweden.- State-controlled Svenska Spel and the Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board, AB Trav och Galopp (ATG), are facing regulatory scrutiny in a new probe by the national gambling regulator Spelinspektionen. Malta-based Lotto Direct has also been placed under supervision
The regulator said it was investigating whether the operators had complied with the Swedish Gambling Act of 2018, specifically with regard to a provision that requires gambling licensees to inform Spelinspektionen of any changes to their applications or registrations. It said it will announce its findings once a decision is reached, including any possible penalties or new licensing conditions.
The announcement comes just after the Administrative Court in Linköping quashed a SEK100m (€9.1m) fine that Spelinspektionen had issued against Svenska Spel Sport & Casino in relation to duty of care failings identified in the transactions of 10 customers who incurred significant losses between October and December 2021.
Spelinspektionen said Svenska Spel Sport & Casino had failed to take adequate steps to prevent excessive gambling, in breach of Sweden’s 2019 Gambling Act. However, the operator appealed against the penalty, arguing that it was disproportionate to the alleged violations. CEO Fredrik Wastenson also argued that the rules lacked clarity, leading to compliance challenges for operators. He insisted that more precision was needed in the wording.
Both Svenska Spel and ATG reported downturns in their financial results for the first quarter. ATG reported that its net gaming revenue across horse racing, sports betting and online casino operations in Sweden and Denmark totalled SEK 1.2bn (€109.9m), a drop of 8 per cent year-on-year. Revenue from its core horseracing segment fell by 10 per cent.
Meanwhile, Svenska Spel reported a 4 per cent drop in net gaming revenue to SEK 1.88bn (€171.7m) amid the closure of two out of its three Casino Cosmopol land-based casinos in February of last year.
Lottery revenue fell by 1 per cent year-on-year to SEK 1.2m while sports betting and casino revenue were up slightly at SEK 551m. The operator closed its last land-based casino, Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm, in April. The Swedish government is reportedly still considering the possibility of privatising the operator’s online gambling division while keeping lottery and keno operations under state control.
