Swedish Regulator Issues Warnings
The Swedish regulatory authority, Spelinspektionen, has recently issued warnings to two operators, ATG and Enlabs, over their conduct in the market. Each operator has made different transgressions that Spelinspektionen is keen to ensure don’t happen again. Enlabs has been warned over its lack of activity and ATG for a bonusing glitch.
Two companies operating in the Swedish gambling market have been warned by Spelinspektionen due to their recent conduct. ©DreamPixer/Pixabay
The bonusing glitch that has seen ATG come under fire from the regulator has allowed players to claim bonuses from the operator multiple times. This is a breach of the terms of its license as the law in Sweden states that licensees can only give players bonuses when people play their games for the first time.
The terms of the licensing conditions are set out in the Gambling Act that was introduced in 2018 when the Swedish market was regulated.
The issue has been blamed on a technical issue by ATG, which occurred as a result of the maintenance of its servers as the company keeps its systems up to date. Unfortunately, the history of players concerning their bonuses did not migrate properly, leaving the operator in the dark as to whether they had received the bonus or not.
This technical issue led to 15 customers being able to claim a new customer offer for a second time. The issue lasted for over five hours in mid-January and ultimately the total amount of bonuses issued came to SEK850.
It seems that Spelinspektionen will not take any further action against the operator due to the relatively small number of customers that were affected and the subsequent actions of ATG to rectify the situation. The regulator took the position that ATG understood the serious nature of the problem and took swift action to review procedures for such offers to prevent similar issues in the future.
“The violation has only affected a few people and has been going on for a short time. In addition, ATG has on its own initiative reported the violation to Spelinspektionen and made a correction”– Camilla Rosenberg, Director-general, Spelispektionen
ATG responded to the ruling from Spelinspektionen by saying that following regulations is of paramount importance for its business. Because of this, the company is careful to report any errors that it commits as and when they happen so it can keep everything above board and problems can be solved more quickly in the future.
Enlabs’ Lack of Activity
In stark contrast to the somewhat amicable warning that Spelinspektionen issued to ATG, the regulator has told the operator Enlabs that it might be at risk of having its license revoked should it not begin to offer gaming activities in Sweden by July of 2020 at the latest.
The license that is currently held by the operator that mainly focuses its products on the Baltic regions of Europe was granted to the company in December 2018. Despite the operator having held a license since before the regulated market in Sweden was opened, it has not yet offered any games to the Swedish public.
This lack of activity has prompted the regulator to tell Enlabs that its license could be revoked, even though it is valid until December 2023. Enlabs has responded to the warning and has reassured Spelinspektionen that it is working hard to begin its operations in the country before the 1st of July deadline.
Enlabs offered no rebuke to the regulators claims that it had taken too long to start offering services to the Swedish public. It acknowledged that the decision made by Spelinspektionen was not unexpected and was a reasonable move from the regulator.
The company maintained its intentions to work in and capitalize on the Swedish market and set out a plan to launch games under its license in the country no later than June, a month before the deadline set by the regulator.
Enlabs has been in a state of upheaval recently, as its former CEO, Robert Andersson, stepped down from his position in February to be replaced by George Ustinov. Movement into the Swedish market may represent a new business plan for the operator that stems from this change in management.
The Swedish regulatory authority has been in the news over recent weeks as a result of its plans to outlaw betting on certain live markets that can be influenced by a single player in a match. These plans would outlaw betting on yellow cards in football, for example, in an effort to reduce match-fixing in Sweden.
The plans have been met with some trepidation from industry experts who have seen the decision from the regulator as a knee-jerk reaction to a problem rather than one that is based on logic and evidence.
