Betsson Nordic Ltd has been issued with a warning and fined SEK6.5 million ($682,272) for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) practices in Sweden. The Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, began its oversight of Betsson on May 2, 2024, primarily examining transactions and activities from 2023. The regulator reviewed 10 customers chosen from the top 50 customers aged 18 to 29 based on their total deposits.
For these 10 players, Betsson provided customer cards and transaction histories, but only two cases were found without deficiencies. For instance, one customer made 163 deposits totaling SEK491,950 between September 19 and December 30, 2023, despite having a net annual income of SEK310,000. However, the player’s risk level was assessed as only low to medium.
Betsson justified deposits exceeding players’ incomes by pointing to their history of previous withdrawals of winnings. Spelinspektionen deemed these deficiencies as “serious and systematic” and decided that the fine of SEK6.5 million reflected both the severity of the violations and the company’s financial standing. They stated that the penalty was proportionate to the seriousness of the breach.
**Snabbare and Flutter’s TSG also fined for AML mishaps**
Alongside Betsson, Snabbare Ltd and The Stars Group (TSG) Interactive, owned by Flutter Entertainment, were also penalized for failing in their AML duties in Sweden. TSG Interactive faced a SEK7 million fine, while Snabbare received a sanction of SEK5.5 million.
TSG permitted several customers to exceed net deposits of SEK424,514 over a 365-day period, failing to initiate necessary enhanced customer due diligence and inquiries into the source of funds. Spelinspektionen criticized TSG for inadequate customer due diligence and the lack of timely enhanced measures, making it difficult to sufficiently assess the risk of exposure to money laundering activities.
Conversely, Snabbare was reprimanded for accepting deposits that surpassed annual incomes and was judged to have inadequate understanding of its customers. Their delayed actions heightened the risk of the platform being misused for money laundering purposes.
The regulator described the infractions by all three companies as “serious and systematic,” cumulating in total fines amounting to SEK19 million.
**Busy period for Spelinspektionen**
Recently, Spelinspektionen imposed fines on several charity and political organizations managing lotteries for not adequately supervising contractors and for marketing infractions. Fines were levied against the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, and the Swedish Social Democratic Women’s League, totaling SEK3 million.
Earlier in May, Spelinspektionen also fined Kindred’s subsidiary Spooniker SEK10 million for AML shortcomings, while Videoslots was ordered to pay SEK12 million in April due to its failure in mitigating excessive gambling. With these actions, Spelinspektionen’s busy 2025 continues to address AML issues within the industry.