The Swedish Court of Appeals has once again dismissed appeals from SkillOnNet and Betsson subsidiary NGG Nordic. The two companies were penalized for breaching Swedish gaming regulations by unlawfully promoting bonus deals.
The two operators initially filed appeals with the Administrative Court after the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, levied fines on them in 2019. Following the rejection of their initial challenge in December 2020, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision on January 18, 2022.
Each case originates from June 2019, with SkillOnNet being investigated since February of that year. Spelinspektionen initiated the inquiry after discovering that SkillOnNet was advertising various incentives, including monthly rewards, free spins, and VIP packages.
The operator clarified that it provided a first bonus to new patrons but did not consider subsequent advertised offers as bonuses. However, Spelinspektionen argued that the subsequent offers were bonuses because they were presented as incentives. Although SkillOnNet subsequently removed these offers from its website based on the regulator’s assessment, it was found to have contravened Chapter 14, Section 9 of the Gambling Act, offering bonuses beyond welcome offers. The penalty amounted to 14 million Swedish kronor.
During the summer of 2019, Betsson’s subsidiary, NGG Nordic, was penalized for offering unlawful incentives in its marketing materials. After receiving grievances regarding its bonuses, the regulatory body launched an inquiry into the company in the spring of 2019. These incentives were promoted as cash prizes, lotteries, and free spins.
NGG Nordic maintained that these bonuses were exclusively for new participants and that existing players were ineligible for the bonus conditions. The operator subsequently removed these promotions from its website, Nordicbet.com, and declared its disagreement with Spelinspektionen’s evaluation.
Spelinspektionen determined that NGG Nordic also contravened Chapter 14, Section 9 of the Gambling Act.
Nevertheless, a legal challenge initiated by Betsson in December 2020 resulted in the administrative court modifying the penalty imposed on NGG Nordic, decreasing it from 19 million Swedish kronor (£1.5 million/€1.8 million/$2 million) to 14 million Swedish kronor (£1.1 million/€1.3 million/$1.5 million).
Sign up for the iGaming newsletter.
