bet365 Avoids Swedish Licence Revocation After Spelinspektionen Imposes SEK 44m in Penalties

Spelinspektionen has issued a warning and penalty fees to Hillside, the operating entity of bet365, for breaches of customer care and deposit limit rules. The sports arm received a SEK 40 million (£3 million) sanction and the gaming arm a SEK 4 million sanction. The violations took place from 1 January 2019 to 19 April 2022, as reported by SBC News.

During that period both the sports and gaming operations allowed players to select a “no limit” option on deposit limits. A hidden technical limit of SEK 500 million existed, but Spelinspektionen ruled this did not satisfy the statutory obligation to set an actual numeric limit. For context, bet365’s Swedish sports gross gaming revenue reached SEK 724.5 million in 2021, while gaming gross gaming revenue stood at SEK 69 million.

Serious and Systematic Failures Mitigated by Corrective Steps

Spelinspektionen determined the failures were both serious and systematic yet chose a warning over licence revocation. The decision followed implementation of key corrective actions during and after the audit. These measures include manual reviews for players losing more than SEK 10,000 monthly, earlier checks for vulnerable groups including young adults aged 18-24 and returning self-excluded players, plus suspension or restriction of accounts once internal high-risk triggers activated.

Cooperation with the regulator, the remedial steps, and the rule that sanctions cannot exceed 10% of annual turnover reduced the penalties from proposed SEK 65 million and SEK 14 million. bet365 ranks fourth in Sweden according to the Blask Index, behind state-owned AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) and Svenska Spel plus an offshore operator.

Enforcement Trend and Association Criticism

Spelinspektionen has pursued similar shortcomings at other licensees over the past year, among them Betsson, ComeOn Group’s Snabbare, Mr Green, ATG and Kanon Gaming. Sweden’s Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has criticised certain regulations for lacking evidence-based foundations. The group connects these rules to stagnant channelisation rates of 84%, with 16% of players on black-market platforms where an unlicensed operator ranks third largest nationally.

The final penalty is not expected to materially affect bet365’s profits. It does, however, illustrate the cost of compliance oversights in a jurisdiction where regulatory scrutiny continues to sharpen.

Reporting: SBC News

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