Skip to main content

Three Gambling Operators Get Their Monetary Penalties Appeals Rejected by Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court

Three monetary penalties, which were issued in 2019 to Betfair, Betway and SkillOnNet and were estimated at a combined total of SEK23.2 million, have been upheld after the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden did not grant leave to appeal.

All three cases saw appeals being previously lodged with the country’s administrative court and the Court of Appeal but they were rejected, so the companies formally turned to the Supreme Administrative Court. The gambling operators were seeking to overturn the fines issued by Spelinspektionen, the gambling regulator in Sweden.

Back in June 2019, the Swedish gambling watchdog found that Betfair had accepted sports bets of customers who were under the legal age of 18. Due to the fact that underage gambling is currently illegal under the country’s gambling legislation, the gambling watchdog issued a fine worth SEK5.5 million to the company.

The company initially turned to the Administrative Court in April 2020 but its appeal got turned down. Then, Betfair filed a subsequent claim to the Court of Appeal in June last year, which was successful as it saw the fine being reduced to SEK4.5 million. The gambling operator’s most recent appeal to the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court was rejected, with the company receiving a warning and a demand to pay the amended monetary penalty.

As mentioned above, the other two gambling companies – Betway and SkillOnNet – have also had their appeals seeking to overturn monetary fines issued by the country’s gambling watchdog rejected by the court.

Betfair, Betway and SkillOnNet Face Spelinspektionen’s Monetary Fines over Legislative Failures

SkillOnNet, which offers various online gambling services in the country, received a warning and a monetary penalty of SEK14 million in June 2019. At the time, Spelinkspektionen found that the company used to offer various types of bonuses in the form of free spins, cashback, daily or monthly bonuses, VIP rewards and special packages. Reportedly, the gambling group had organized online lotteries – something it had not been allowed to do under its operating license in the country.

On June 27th, 2019, Betway also faced a similar warning, along with a penalty fee worth SEK4.5 million for allowing underage customers to place bets. Only a month before that, the gambling operator was issued a similar warning and a monetary penalty of SEK4.7 million for breaching the country’s gambling legislation by offering its customers special bonuses on repeated occasions.

Both companies have filed appeals to the Supreme Administrative Court but they failed to overturn the fines imposed by the Swedish gambling regulatory body. After their failed appeals to the court, both Betway and SkillOnNet have received warnings and orders to pay the fines.

Earlier in 2022, NGG Nordic – a subsidiary of Betsson – also failed in its January appeal to the court. Still, the court decided to reduce the fine issued by Spelinspektionen from SEK19 million to SEK14 million.



 Author: Harrison Young

Harrison Young is an experienced writer, who started his career almost 8 years ago. Prior to joining our team at CasinoGamesPro, he worked as an editor for a small magazine.
»