The Swedish Spelinspektionen iGaming regulator has again fined a pair of casino operators for violating its very strict regulations. The operators who are fined by the Swedish regulator are Betsson AB and SkillOnNet Limited which reportedly violated the regulator’s provision related to reoccurring bonuses.
As reported last week, SkillOnNet Limited and Betsson AB have to pay a total fine of slightly over $3 million as both operators were found guilty of offering daily and weekly bonus surprises, free spins, rewards and other kinds of bonuses to their players which violated the regulator’s rules.
The new rules regulating the provision of bonuses and promotions were brought in six months ago any many operators active in Sweden have been adjusting to them following Sweden launching its regulated online gaming market back in January of 2019. This is not the first fine of this kind against iGaming operators as Spelinspektionen has already fined two other operators for similar violations earlier this month. As reported, both AG Communications and Genesis Global were penalized for being found guilty of bonus and promotion-related violations.
All Sorts of Reoccurring Restrictions Posed by the Regulator
As regulated by Spelinspektionen, online casino operators which are active in Sweden and which offer their services and products to players from Sweden are not allowed to offer any kind of reoccurring bonuses which allow players to benefit from one, non-transferable bonus or promotion. However, as stated in the regulator’s official press release regarding the latest incident, it seems as Betsson AB’s Nordic Limited subsidiary had violated these rules at its NordicBet.com by offering these kinds of strictly forbidden reoccurring bonuses to its registered players.
For this reason, the regulator decided that Betsson AB has to pay a fine or around $2 million. Following this press release, Betsson AB released its own official press release in which it states that Betsson AB had not agreed with the Swedish regulator’s interpretation of rules. The operator also stated that they believe their bonus offerings active at NordicBet.com had been completely in line what is actually permitted under the latest gambling legislations.
In their official press release, the operator also said that the regulations on bonuses and promotions are actually vague as they leave room for all sorts of different interpretations. When it comes to SkillOnNet Limited and its issued related to violating rules on bonuses, the company has been hit with a massive penalty of around $1.5 million as several of its main domains reportedly have broken the regulator’s iGaming rules by offering its players VIP packages, cashback bonuses, free spins and monthly and daily bonuses.
SkillOnNet Limited Previously Warned Over Offering Lottery Games
As reported, this Maltese company was previously warned for running online lottery games in the country despite the fact that online lottery is not licensed. SkillOnNet limited runs several online casinos including Prime Casino, PlayOJO Casino, and Luna Casino which offer lottery games to Swedish players despite lottery not being licensed.
Following these latest incidents and violations, Ardalan Shekarabi who is Minister of Civil Affairs said that online casino operators who fail to follow the country’s iGaming rules and legislations have to leave the market. While Betsson AB and SkillOnNet will not leave the market, they are penalized. The operators are also warned that not following the new regulatory framework is a serious violation which brings consequences.
