Fines for Anti-Money Laundering Violations by Three Gambling Companies Confirmed by Swedish Court
The Swedish administrative court confirmed anti-money laundering violations by 3 gambling companies, stating that the authorities were right to impose such fines due to deficiencies in customer due diligence. The decision confirms penalties issued by Spelinspektionen against Betsson, Snabbare, and Spooniker.
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Court Supports Regulator’s Case
The court found that Spelinspektionen acted correctly when it issued warnings and penalty fees in May 2025 following investigations into how the companies handled their AML obligations. The operators had challenged the regulator’s interpretation of the rules and argued that the sanctions were excessive.
Betsson said that the authority had adopted a too narrow approach to the verification of funds. Furthermore, the penalty was excessive and discriminatory and was not in line with previous judicial practice and anti-money laundering guidelines. Betsson noted that any violations on its part had not been systematic or significant.
The court did not accept that argument. After reviewing the cases, it agreed that the companies had failed to meet the standards required under Sweden’s AML framework for monitoring and verifying customer activity. It therefore confirmed the fines imposed by the regulator.
Fines Upheld by Court
The Court confirmed fines of SEK 6.5 million or €589,400 for Betsson. Snabbare, which is operated by ComeOn Group, was fined SEK 5.5 million or €498,700, and Spooniker, which is operated by Kindred, faced a larger fine of SEK 10 million or €906,700.
It confirms the sanctions following the attempts by operators to challenge the imposed sanctions. In addition, the decision also confirms the seriousness of the violations committed justifying the need for imposing sanctions.
Spelinspektionen’s case focused on the operators’ obligations to establish the source of customer funds. The regulator said the firms had not done enough to verify that information in the cases it reviewed.
Investigation Focused On Young Players
The regulator’s investigation looked at customers aged 18 to 29, specifically the 50 individuals with the highest cumulative deposits in the 12 months of 2023. Investigators found that the operators had failed to properly establish the source of funds when deposits appeared inconsistent with declared taxable income.
One of such violations happened when one of Betsson’s customers made 163 deposits worth SEK 491,950 during September-December 2023, with an annual net income of SEK 310,000. The regulator said the player’s risk classification stayed low to medium throughout the period and argued that Betsson had not sufficiently investigated where the money came from.
The operators said those deposits could be explained by previous gambling winnings. Spelinspektionen rejected that explanation, saying the source of funds had not been properly verified.
AML Standards Remain Central
The decision reinforces the importance of customer due diligence under Sweden’s AML framework. In this case, the court agreed with the regulator that the companies had not met those obligations when handling customer activity linked to the deposits under review.
For the operators, the ruling confirms the fines and leaves the regulator’s original findings intact. For Spelinspektionen, it supports its view that failures in source-of-funds checks can warrant meaningful penalties when customer activity raises concerns.
The case also shows that Swedish AML enforcement continues to focus on how gambling companies handle large deposits, income mismatches, and risk classifications.
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Source: Focus Gaming News
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