The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has handed out fines to a trio of suppliers deemed to be providing content to operators without the necessary licence.
The suppliers in question are Kalamba Games, EGT Digital Gaming and Quickspin AB.
Quickspin AB received the largest fine of SEK650,000 (£51,670), with Kalamba Games ordered to pay a SEK60,000 penalty and EGT Digital Gaming SEK5,000.
All three companies were found to be supplying games to operators that lacked the necessary licence to operate in Sweden.
In Kalamba’s case, the firm claimed it had implemented geoblocking software to prevent Swedish players from accessing its games.
Kalamba also attested that its games were offered to these operators by a third-party platform originating from a country within which it had no jurisdiction.
Similarly, EGT told the SGA that its games were offered via an international distribution partner, and that it had no prior knowledge its games would end up on black market sites.
Quickspin also informed the regulator that its gamed appeared on illegal platforms due to third-party distribution.
EGT claimed some of its games on the banned websites were not provided by EGT but were manufactured by different suppliers that used titles and game mechanics similar to EGT titles.
Kalamba likewise claimed its games that appeared on black market platforms were made by other suppliers.
Despite being fully co-operative with the SGA during its investigations, and providing financial records showing respective sales in Sweden, each company received a warning and a fine.
An SGA statement read: “The requirement for a gaming software licence was introduced into the Gambling Act with the aim of increasing channelling. Illegal gaming operators can therefore no longer use companies that have a gaming software licence in Sweden.
“This is not compatible with the permit to manufacture, provide install or modify gaming software to someone who lacks the necessary licence.
“Licensees’ gaming software may therefore not appear on websites operated by actors without the necessary licence. The preparatory work for the law shows that the possibilities for circumvention, such as ‘software developers using various intermediaries to provide both licensed and unlicensed gaming companies with software’ should be minimised.
“It is therefore also not permitted to indirectly manufacture, provide, install or modify gaming software to someone who lacks the necessary licence. Indirect handling occurs, for example, when the gaming software is provided through an intermediary or when the rights are granted to a third party.”
So far this month, the SGA has issued bans to three Curaçao-based operators for illegally targetting Swedish players.
They were Altacore NV, Bitx Operations NV and Ryker BV.
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Swedish Gambling Authority dishes out more than SEK700,000 in combined penalties to Kalamba Games, EGT Digital and Quickspin AB
The post Swedish regulator hits trio with fines for supplying black market operators first appeared on EGR Intel.