When providing gambling services in any country, licensed operators are to adhere to rules and regulations set forth by the gambling regulator. In Sweden, Spelinspektionen is in charge. The Swedish regulator recently handed down fines to two operators for issues regarding bonus offers. Both Betway and Mandalorian Technologies were found to have offered bonus opportunities when they were not supposed to.
Bonus Issues:
In Sweden, licensed operators are allowed to offer a bonus to players upon signing up for a new player account within an online gambling platform. In the instance of Betway and Mandalorian Technologies, the companies provided bonuses several times after players had signed up.
Betway was fined SEK5m ($521,224) while Mandalorian was fined SEK9m ($933,359) for not following bonus regulations. Both companies were also warned about their actions.
According to igamingbusiness.com…
Spelinspektionen released a statement which read: “The main purpose of the new gambling regulation, which came into force on January 1, 2019, is to strengthen consumer protection and reduce the negative effects of gambling.
The limitation on bonuses is contained in the law to reduce social and economic damages and problem gambling. The Spelinspektionen will therefore continue to focus on supervision of this area.”
The regulator took time to write to operators back in February warning about offering bonuses to existing members of their site. An assessment had been conducted and it was found that further measures were needed to achieve full compliance regarding bonus regulations.
Previous Fines:
Spelinspektionen has been quite busy as of late, regarding fines involving regulation issues. The gaming regulator issued fines in March to Genesis Global Limited and Alands Penningautomatforening (PAF) for self-exclusion issues.
Both operators allowed players who were self-excluded to access the gaming sites. PAF was fined a small $10,837 amount while Genesis Global Limited paid a much larger fine of $433,658.