Sweden Fines Bet365 €3.94 Million.
Spelinspektionen has fined Hillside, the operator of bet365 in Sweden, a total of €3,943,280 over shortcomings in deposit-limit controls and customer care. Hillside kept its Swedish licences after introducing corrective measures.
Bet365 Receives Swedish Penalties but Keeps Its Licences
Hillside has been issued two penalties by Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, over failings in its sports betting and gaming operations. The regulator fined the sports operation €3,584,800 and the gaming arm €358,480. Although the violations were considered serious, Hillside avoided licence revocation after taking steps to address the issues during and following the audit.
The breaches took place from 1 January 2019 to 19 April 2022. During that period, customers in both parts of bet365’s Swedish business could choose a “no limit” option when setting deposit limits. While the system included a hidden technical cap of €44,810,000, the regulator concluded that this did not satisfy Hillside’s obligation to provide customers with a specific numerical limit.
Changes to Customer Safeguards
Spelinspektionen characterised the failures as serious and systematic, but chose to issue warnings rather than revoke Hillside’s licences. Under the company’s updated procedures, customers who lose more than €896.20 in a month are subject to a manual review. Additional checks are applied earlier to groups considered potentially vulnerable, including customers aged 18 to 24 and people returning after self-exclusion.
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Hillside has also introduced systems that can suspend or restrict accounts when internal monitoring identifies high-risk activity. The regulator took the company’s cooperation and corrective actions into account when determining the penalties. In 2021, bet365’s Swedish sports operation reported €64,929,690 in gross gaming revenue (GGR), while its gaming operation recorded €6,183,780. The operator placed fourth in Sweden in the Blask Index. State-owned AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) and Svenska Spel ranked higher, as did the offshore NV casino.
Regulatory Scrutiny Across the Market
Spelinspektionen has also taken action involving other licensed operators over the past year. Betsson, ComeOn Group’s Snabbare, Mr Green, ATG and Kanon Gaming have all faced regulatory attention. The Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS) has criticised some of the rules enforced by Spelinspektionen, arguing that they lack an evidence-based foundation. BOS has also connected the rules to stagnant channelisation, with around 16% of players reportedly using black-market platforms.
