AGCO

Eight online gaming operators have been penalised SEK 42.2m (£3.5m) by the Swedish regulator, after being found to have permitted betting on sporting events where the majority of participants were under 18 years of age.

Licensed organisations within the country are forbidden for allowing betting on events where players are predominantly under the age of 18, as it’s believed it could heighten the direct danger of minors being exposed to attempts to manipulate sporting results.

Considering the violations to be serious, the eight organisations have each been handed a warning and a variety of penalty fees for the breaches by the Spelinspektionen.

Hillside, the operator of bet365, and The Stars Group interactive, licensed for the PokerStars, PokerStars Casino, Full Tilt and BetStars entities, were each handed a SEK 10m (£850,000) penalty, for offering odds on five and two football matches respectively.

Flutter Entertainment’s Betfair International and ElectraWorks, licensed to operate bwin.se, were guilty of one and three breachers respectively which resulted in each being handed a penalty of SEK 5.5m (£467,500).

Gaming Innovation Group subsidiary Zecure Gaming, which has announced its intention to appeal, and Casinostugan saw their breaches result in a SEK 3.5m (£300,000) penalty, with Bethard Group, licensed to operate 19 sites in Sweden, being handed a SEK 2.5m (£212,500) fee for its two actions and Coolbet’s operator Polar penalised SEK 700,000 (£60,000).

The Spelinspektionen also notes that each company involved have taken various measures to ensure that future betting takes place according to the law, which wouldn’t permit betting on under-19 and under-21 games.

Responding to the decision GiG stated that although an under-17 game was offered online no bets were taken, commenting: “GiG intends to appeal the sanction. The company does not agree with SGA’s assessment and conclusion as the presentation of an event cannot be considered the same as accepting bets on U18 games for the purposes of both determining the infringement and the quantum.

“GiG has taken the necessary measures to ensure that all games presented on the sites to end users in Sweden are in line with SGA’s requirements and interpretation.”