We’re only a few days into June, but for Swedish gaming giants Betsson it’s already shaping up to be a month to forget.
Following the 5-0 hammering inflicted on their sponsored team Inter Milan by a rampant PSG in the Champions League final, Betsson has now been hit with a further double dose of regulatory bad news: The company is facing fines at home and failed expansion abroad, which might just be enough to leave its leadership yearning for a long summer break while heading to the boardroom.
The first blow came courtesy of the Swedish Gaming Authority, Spelinspektionen, which fined Betsson Nordic SEK 6.5 million (£485,000/€560,000) and issued the company a formal warning on June 2.
The regulator cited shortcomings in the company’s anti-money laundering processes and due diligence, including the verification of the consumer’s source of funds.
The investigation, launched in May 2024, reviewed 10 accounts randomly selected from a list of 50 consumers aged 18 to 29-years-old who had made the largest total deposits.
Of the 10 accounts, eight revealed violations.
One player was allowed to make 181 deposits, totalling SEK 133,584 (£10,260/€12,132) in a single month, but was classed as low risk by the company. Another was allowed to deposit SEK 491,950 (£37,787/€44,676) over four months, despite their income being significantly lower at SEK 310,000 (£23,805/€28,151).
Deficiences
Spelinspektionen called the deficiencies “serious and systematic”.
Luckily for Betsson, the violations occurred before the 2024 Swedish Gambling Act Review, which removed the €1 million (£850,000) maximum cap for AML failures. Under the new system, not applicable in this case, sanctions are now calculated based on the company’s gross gaming revenue (GGR).
Betsson was not alone. Snabbare and TSG Interactive, the Flutter Entertainment-owned operator of PokerStars, were also hit with SEK 5.5 million (£422,345/€499,455) and SEK 7 million (£537,530/€635,670) fines, respectively, for similar failings.
In Snabbare’s case, one player was allowed to deposit a staggering SEK 3.24 million (£248,799/€294,224) over seven months — despite only earning a fraction of that at SEK 571,000 (£43,832/€51,872). The player’s account triggered six alarms, which the company subsequently dismissed.
As for TSG Interactive, their violations were far-reaching and structural, with their system failing to generate alerts for player accounts that should have raised red flags and enhanced due diligence not being implemented.
If you are wondering why Snabbare received a smaller fine than Betsson, the answer is unclear.
Back to Betsson
Betsson’s second hit of the week came with the news that it is abandoning plans for re-entry into the Dutch market, terminating its February 2024 acquisition of Holland Gaming Technology Ltd and Holland Power Gaming B.V., after more than a year of waiting for the required regulatory approval.
The deal expired at its agreed long-stop date after the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), the Dutch Gambling Authority, failed to issue approval in time.
The outcome has cost the company €800,000 (£680,000) in a break fee, meaning Betsson gets back €26.7 million (£22.04m) from the original €27.5 million (£22.68m) price paid.
And this is not Betsson’s first stumble in the Netherlands.
In 2023, the company withdrew its licensing application, citing significant and costly delays. By acquiring the two pre-licensed companies, Betsson was hoping to streamline its access back to the Dutch market — a jurisdiction which generated €1.47 billion (£1,2 bn) in GGR last year, up six percent on 2023’s figures.
Despite the set-back, Betsson now says it is looking ahead and plans “to pursue other business opportunities” with the returned Dutch funds.
Perhaps they’ll start exploring sponsorship deals with PSG.
After all everyone loves a winner.
