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.

One of the most prominent industry’s governing bodies, the Swedish Gambling Authority Spelinspektionen recently has imposed fines on several betting operators for reportedly bonus terms’ violations. The regulator has fined two big brands including the Mandalorian Technologies Limited company and Betway over several infractions.

One infraction involves violations of bonus terms or more specifically offering unauthorized bonuses for players residing in Sweden. Naturally, every fully licensed and regulated online gaming operator operating in any area has to adhere to regulations and rules which are bullet-proof set by online gambling jurisdictions including Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory which is in charge of all online gambling activities happening within the country.

Violations of Bonus Terms and Conditions

As of recently, both Mandalorian Technologies and Betway have been handled fines over their bonus offers which were unauthorized. When it comes to the online gambling activities in Sweden, regulated operators can offer a welcome or a sign-up bonus to newcomers only once after they have registered. However, in the case of Mandalorian Technologies and Betway, both companies have offered bonuses of this kind several times after punters had registered already.

Both companies involved were fined. Mandalorian Technologies was fined around $933,359 while Betway was fined around $521,224 for violating bonus terms and conditions and for not following Spelinspektionen-imposed regulations imposed on bonuses. Both Mandalorian Technologies and Betway were warned prior to being fined for their actions.

Following this incident, the Sweden Gambling Authority officials have stated that the sole purpose of the country’s new regulations regarding the industry is to protect players’ and reduce any negative effects of gaming online.

This new gambling regulation came into force at the beginning of 2019. This specific limitation placed over bonuses is regulated by the law in order to reduce any economic and social damages. For this reason, the Sweden Gambling Authority continues to monitor bonuses and promotions’ area in specific.

PAF and Genesis Global Limited Also in Trouble

It should be noted that Spelinspektionen has been busy as of 2019 especially regarding regulation problems. Prior to handing down fines to Mandalorian Technologies and Betway, the regulatory has also dropped fines to Alands Penningautomatforening or PAF and Genesis Global Limited for similar self-exclusion problems back in March, which this gaming regulator takes very seriously.

In the case of PAF and Genesis Global Limited, both online gambling operators allowed punters to access their gaming platforms after being self-excluded. For their actions, Genesis Global Limited was fined around $433,658 while PAF has to pay a smaller fine of $10,837. Apart from fining PAF and Genesis Global Limited, the Sweden Gambling Authority has also levied a fine against AG Communications Limited over breaking its reoccurring bonuses-related rules.

According to official reports regarding this issue, AG Communication Limited that is the subsidiary of Aspire Global has to pay around $52,794. It should be noted that this is not the first time that AG Communications and Genesis Global Limited have violated the Swedish Gambling Authority’s rules as both operators were hit with massive penalties of $422,488 and $316,866 over their repeated failures to follow the authority’s self-exclusion-related service.