The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has issued Spooniker with a SEK10m (£778,160) fine after identifying shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing processes.
The operator, which is wholly owned by Kindred Group, and in turn FDJ United, holds an SGA licence for commercial online gaming and betting for multiple sites, including Unibet.
The latest fine stems from a follow-up inspection after the SGA’s initial review into Spooniker in 2022 found the operator had failed to meet its enhanced due diligence requirements, which resulted in a SEK10.9m penalty payment.
The most recent investigation, which was carried out between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024, was conducted to determine whether the operator had addressed its AML failings.
Both investigations outlined how the company had not taken sufficient measures to identify sources of funds in several cases.
As a result, the SGA argued the operator lacked “the ability to understand and assess whether the customers’ activities and transactions were legitimate or posed a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing”.
The Swedish regulator said Spooniker had fallen foul of the customer due diligence requirements outlined in the country’s Money Laundering Act.
As part of the review into Spooniker’s AML systems, the SGA requested customer information for five newly registered players, as well as the company’s general risk assessment and internal procedures.
Additionally, the SGA asked for a statement from Spooniker on how the measures it vowed to implement in response to the 2022 investigation have strengthened its AML procedures.
Spooniker responded with a summary of its customer monitoring process during the audited period, which detailed how the firm divided its customers its varying risk categories.
Despite the SGA’s stance that Spooniker had failed to implement adequate customer due diligence measures in timely fashion, the operator argued the regulator’s approach to deposits is “disproportionate” and “administratively burdensome”.
Spooniker claimed that operators should verify the origin of funds on a case-by-case basis, guided by the “actual risk” of money laundering, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
It also confirmed that of the customers placed under review by the SGA, Spooniker saw nothing to suggest any money laundering or terrorist financing had taken place.
Spooniker, which has seen high staff turnover within its AML team, noted it had adapted its approach so that risk-based work is now combined with a “more detailed control structure”, which includes regular deposit reviews complimentary to overall risk assessments, and the development of a solution that links deposit thresholds to customers’ taxable income.
The company’s AML activities are also reviewed regularly internally, as well as the subject of an independent assessment from an external consulting firm specialising in relevant AML issues.
Despite this, the SGA concluded Spooniker’s ability to assess the risk of money laundering was “insufficient”.
Detailing the reasons behind its assessment, the regulator explained how the five customers reviewed deposited a total between SEK620,000 and SEK830,000 during the audit, with three customers triggering Spooniker’s monitoring system multiple times for high deposits and deviating game patterns.
Yet, other than a single instance of obtaining information on taxable income of one customer, no further measures were taken.
The SGA noted that enhanced due diligence measures were taken “too late”.
Due to the length of time the violations lasted, as well as limited cooperation with the SGA and a failure to update certain procedures previously deemed insufficient, such as Spooniker’s stance on net deposits, the authority considered its verdict of a warning and SEK10m fine to be “proportionate to the seriousness of the violations”.
EGR has contacted FDJ United for comment.
The post SGA issues Kindred Group-linked Spooniker with SEK10m fine over AML failings first appeared on EGR Intel.
Swedish regulator conducts a second review into Spooniker amid concerns over shortcomings in its anti-money laundering procedures three years after initial investigation
The post SGA issues Kindred Group-linked Spooniker with SEK10m fine over AML failings first appeared on EGR Intel.