Swedish appeals court slaps down bet365 fine challenge
A Swedish appeals court has upheld SEK44 million in financial penalties against two companies operating the bet365 gambling brand, ruling that they failed to meet their obligations to protect customers from harmful gambling.
The Administrative Court of Appeal rejected challenges brought by Hillside (Gaming) ENC and Hillside (Sports) ENC, leaving earlier regulatory warnings and financial sanctions in place.
Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, confirmed the outcome in an announcement published on October 14.
The court agreed with previous findings that the companies had committed serious breaches of their duty of care and requirements governing customer deposit limits.
While both companies received formal warnings, Hillside’s sports betting business received the larger penalty of SEK40 million, while its online gaming business was fined SEK4 million.
The regulator said the court considered the combination of warnings and financial penalties proportionate to the violations.
bet365 failures involved player protection measures
The cases concerned the companies’ handling of gambling customers between 2019 and 2022.
Under Sweden’s Gambling Act, licensed operators must monitor customer gambling behaviour and intervene when there are indications that a customer may be experiencing gambling-related harm.
Operators are expected to assess customers’ gambling activity and take appropriate action where spending patterns or other behaviour suggest increased risk.
The court found that the Hillside companies had not consistently fulfilled those responsibilities, while the proceedings also concerned failures relating to mandatory deposit limits.
The appeals court agreed with the earlier administrative court assessment that the breaches were sufficiently serious to justify regulatory sanctions.
The decision reinforces the Swedish regulator’s position that operators cannot rely solely on customers to manage their gambling activity.
Licensed businesses must maintain effective monitoring and intervention procedures as part of their regulatory obligations.
Sweden opened its competitive online gambling market in January 2019, replacing a system in which gambling was largely controlled by state-owned operators.
Since then, Spelinspektionen has taken enforcement action against licensed gambling companies for failures involving advertising, player protection and anti-money laundering requirements.
