Sweden’s gaming regulator has dropped its case against four online operators who were alleged to have offered bets on sporting events where most of the players were under age 18. Hillside Sports, which operates the bet365 brand in Sweden, as well as Betsson, ATG and the Kindred Group-owned Spooniker have all been cleared of wrongdoing.
Spelinspektionen originally said all the operators took bets on the individual performances of under-18s in a football match, such as whether they would score during the game. The regulator issued a number of warnings and penalty fees as part of the process.
Among these punishments was a SEK10 million (US$1 million) penalty fee for Hillside, saying it offered odds on five football matches in which a majority of players were 18 or under.
However, Spelinspektionen has now backtracked on the rulings, saying that after further investigation, none of the four operators violated license conditions as the featured players who were eligible for the bets in the games were, for the most part, over the age of 18.
To curb match-fixing and corruption, licensed operators may not offer odds on events where the majority of participants are under the age of 18. Spelinspektionen added that it’s working on regulations to put an end to match-fixing in professional sports.
The regulator has charged other operators with betting on under-18s. The Star Group was penalized to the tune of SEK10 million for offering odds on such games on at least two occasions. Flutter Entertainment’s Betfair International and ElectraWorks, the operator behind bwin.se, were fined SEK5.5 million. Betfair was found guilty of one breach of regulations, and Electraworks of three breaches.
Casinostugan and Zecure Gaming were each ordered to pay SEK3.5 million for similar breaches, while Bethard was issued with a penalty fee of SEK2.5 million and CoolBet operator Polar SEK700,000.
Cherry’s ComeOn Sweden subsidiary was hit with a SEK9.5m penalty, while its Snabbare brand was handed a penalty of SEK6 million, and Hajper, another ComeOn brand, SEK4.5 million. Legolas.bet, meanwhile, got a SEK100,000 penalty.
Such rulings caused an outcry in Sweden, with the affected operators arguing that Spelinspektionen had not been clear about how it planned to enforce the prohibition on U18 betting. This prompted Gaming Innovation Group to temporarily suspend sports betting via its proprietary Rizk and Guts brands, saying this lack of clarity had put it in “an impossible position.”
Swedish operator association Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS) has requested a meeting with the regulator, seeking to clarify its stance on the matter.
