Betsson Nordic Ltd has been issued a warning and fined SEK6.5 million ($682,272) due to inadequate anti-money laundering (AML) procedures in Sweden.
The regulatory scrutiny by Spelinspektionen commenced on May 2, 2024, focusing on the analysis of transactions and customer activities throughout 2023. It selected 10 individuals from the top 50 customers aged between 18 to 29, who made the largest deposits. Betsson provided the transaction histories and customer cards for these customers, but only two exhibited no deficiencies.
In one significant case, a customer had made 163 deposits that accrued to a total of SEK491,950 between September 19 and December 30, 2023. Notably, this sum exceeded the customer’s annual net income of SEK310,000, yet their risk assessment remained categorized as low to medium. Betsson rationalized these excessive deposits by referencing prior withdrawals of winnings by the player.
“The Swedish Gambling Authority has observed that these deficiencies are both serious and systematic,” Spelinspektionen pronounced. “Considering this, along with the company’s financial status, the sanction fee has been set at SEK6.5 million.”
“The assigned penalty is deemed proportionate to the gravity of the infringement,” the regulator further noted.
**Related Fines for Snabbare and Flutter’s TSG for AML Issues**
In related developments, Snabbare Ltd and The Stars Group (TSG) Interactive, subsidiaries of Flutter Entertainment, also faced penalties for failing to meet AML regulations. TSG Interactive was fined SEK7 million, whereas Snabbare received a SEK5.5 million fine.
TSG was addressed for allowing multiple customers to exceed net deposits totaling SEK424,514 within a single year, failing to prompt necessary enhanced customer due diligence and investigations into the origins of their funds. “TSG’s customer due diligence measures were found to be inadequate,” critiqued Spelinspektionen. “TSG failed to timely implement appropriate enhanced customer due diligence, therefore not sufficiently evaluating the risk of being exposed to money laundering.”
Snabbare was criticized for accepting deposits that were higher than the annual incomes of its customers, indicating that the company’s knowledge of its clients was insufficient, with actions being taken too late, heightening the risk of misuse for money laundering.
Spelinspektionen revealed the shortcomings across all three operators as “serious and systematic,” leading to a combined total of SEK19 million in fines.
**Busy Period for Spelinspektionen**
Recently, Spelinspektionen imposed fines on various charity and political organizations engaged in lotteries, citing failures in contractor management and marketing violations. The groups involved included the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, and the Swedish Social Democratic Women’s League, collectively fined SEK3 million.
Earlier in May, Spelinspektionen levied a SEK10 million fine on Kindred’s subsidiary Spooniker for AML shortcomings, followed by a SEK12 million fine in April to Videoslots for its insufficient measures in combating excessive gambling.
Spelinspektionen’s active 2025 continues with Betsson among the three entities highlighted for AML deficiencies.