Swedish gaming authority bans another operator

News Team July 31, 2024

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Swedish gaming authority bans another operator

Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gaming regulator, has banned yet another operator from offering its services in the country.

Targeting Swedes through affiliates

Small House B.V., a Curacao-licensed operator, had been operating in the country without a Swedish license before being banned by the regulator. In Sweden, according to Section 2, Chapter 1 of the Gambling Act, iGaming companies can accept Swedish customers without a local license, provided they do not actively target Swedish market. Those operators are not bound by the Gambling Act.

However, Spelinspektionen, which monitors licensed and unlicensed operators, discovered that Small House B.V. had listed the Swedish currency as a payment option. Furthermore, to drive traffic, the company was paying affiliates actively targeting Swedes by offering promotions in Swedish. The regulator deemed these two actions evidence that Small House B.V. was targeting Swedes, leading to the operator’s ban.

Payment methods controversy

A few days earlier, Spelinspektionen had banned Hitz Gaming Oü, an iGaming operator registered in Estonia, for promoting its services through a Sweden-based affiliate. The company also utilised the local payment system Quickbit, as well as Sweden’s BankID as payment options.

However, Hitz Gaming Oü has the right to appeal and may challenge the regulator’s decision. The operator claims that the company has no contractual relations with affiliates marketing the company’s games to Sweden. Additionally, they argued that the payment solutions they used are common in other countries. The regulator motivated the ban stating that “the company uses payment service providers that are registered in Sweden or are exclusively or largely used by Swedish consumers”. Hitz Gaming Oü challenges not only this conclusion, but also questions the regulation supporting it.

Challenges for Spelinspektionen

Ensuring that casinos operating in the country adhere to legislative requirements can be challenging for the regulator. As noted by bestcasino.com, “there are an incredible number of different Swedish casinos,” and there has been an increase in the number of players. According to a survey, in 2022, 12% of Swedes engaged in online gambling. By 2024, this figure rose to over 16% for online casino players and 20% for sports betting.