**Betsson Nordic Ltd Subject to Warning and Fine Due to AML Shortcomings in Sweden**
Betsson Nordic Ltd has been issued a warning along with a hefty fine of SEK6.5 million ($682,272) for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations in Sweden.
The oversight by the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, commenced on May 2, 2024, focusing on transactions and customer activities from the previous year. The review specifically looked into 10 customers from a select group of the top 50 highest depositing customers aged between 18 and 29. Within this group, only two customers were deemed compliant, with no shortcomings identified. A particularly striking instance involved a customer who made 163 deposits amounting to SEK491,950 between September 19 and December 30, 2023, despite their annual net income being only SEK310,000. This customer was incorrectly classified as a low to medium risk.
Spelinspektionen highlighted that Betsson had justified deposits that exceeded the players’ incomes by pointing to prior withdrawals of betting winnings. “The deficiencies are both serious and systematic,” Spelinspektionen commented, adding, “Given the company’s financial status, a sanction fee of SEK6.5 million is regarded as appropriate and proportionate to the severity of the violations.”
**Further AML Fines for Snabbare and Flutter’s TSG**
In related proceedings, Snabbare Ltd and The Stars Group (TSG) Interactive, part of Flutter Entertainment, were also penalized and warned for their AML inadequacies. TSG Interactive was fined SEK7 million as some customers were allowed to exceed net deposits of SEK424,514 over the course of a year without initiating essential customer due diligence or investigations into the source of funds.
According to Spelinspektionen, “TSG’s customer due diligence was insufficient. They failed to implement adequate enhanced measures in a timely manner, thereby not properly assessing the risk of exposure to money laundering.”
Snabbare Ltd was criticized for accepting deposits that surpassed customers’ annual incomes, which led to Spelinspektionen deeming the company’s customer awareness and responsive measures inadequate. This lapse increased the risk of the company being exploited for money laundering purposes. These shortcomings were described by Spelinspektionen as “serious and systematic,” leading to a total of SEK19 million in fines levied against the three operators.
**An Active Year for Spelinspektionen**
More broadly, just last week, Spelinspektionen imposed fines on various charity and political organizations engaged in lotteries for inadequate management of contractors and for violations related to marketing. Collective fines of SEK3 million were allocated to the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League, and the Swedish Social Democratic Women’s League.
Additionally, earlier in May, Spelinspektionen had fined Kindred’s subsidiary Spooniker SEK10 million for AML shortcomings, and in April, Videoslots was fined SEK12 million due to its failures in preventing excessive gambling.
These activities highlight an eventful 2025 for Spelinspektionen, with Betsson among the trio of operators fined for AML infractions.