Swedish regulator fines ATG for self-exclusion failings

The horse racing and betting operator has been fined €187,500.

Sweden.- The national gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has hit the Swedish horse racing betting operator AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) with a SEK2m (€187,500) penalty fee for self-exclusion failings. The self-exclusion function was not available to some customers using the operator’s services for two weeks between January 13 and 28. Specifically, the function was unavailable to customers who logged in using a mobile bank ID.

As has happened previously, ATG informed the regulator of the failings itself. It said the fault was caused by a technical problem related to an update made to the login system. The operator said it identified the glitch on January 27 and fixed it within 24 hours.

It estimated that approximately 100 customers may have been affected. 

Spelinspektionen concluded that ATG had breached Sweden’s Gaming Ordinance, which states that gaming operators must ensure a self-exclusion option is clearly visible and accessible at all times on every page of a gambling site.

It judged the length of time the error was present to be “not insignificant” but recognised that ATG acted swiftly when it discovered the problem.

The SEK2m penalty fee was calculated based on annual GGR of SEK5.5bn. 

Spelinspektionen said: “The Gambling Act sets requirements that gambling activities must be suitable and conducted in a healthy and safe manner under public control. This means, among other things, that gaming must have strong consumer protection and that the negative consequences of gambling must be limited. A licensee must give registered players the opportunity to suspend themselves from gaming for a certain period of time or until further notice.”

Last week, ATG reported revenue of SEK 2.59bn (€245m) for the first half. That’s a drop of 2 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, operating profit was down by 14 per cent from SEK 917m (€86m) to SEK 805m (€76.1m). 

Second quarter revenue was SEK 1.3bn, down from SEK 1.4bn in Q2 2021. However, ATG noted that while down year-on-year, it was still its second-best first half on record. It noted that it was seeing “increased competition from other amusements” but remained confident that it would return to growth.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Svenska Spel has reported that its Q2 revenue was up by 1 per cent year-on-year from SEK 1,938m to SEK 1,963m (€186.5m). However, operating profit fell by 4 per cent to SEK 1,127m (€106.8m).