Paf wins Swedish licence extension in legal challenge
Operating licence extended to three years from two in Swedish Administrative Court
Paf’s Swedish operating licence has been extended to three years following a successful appeal in the Swedish courts.
Judges at the Swedish Administrative Court in Linköping dismissed a prior Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) decision to limit the licence awarded to the former Mandalorian Technologies business to two years.
Paf acquired Mandalorian Technologies in March 2020 and inherited the SGA ruling, originally imposed in May 2019, after regulators ruled the operator had been offering bonuses to Swedish players in violation of SGA rules.
At the time, Mandalorian claimed the cashback offers did not constitute an economic incentive to gamble. Mandalorian’s stance on this issue was reinforced by the opinion of external legal advisers.
However, Mandalorian received a SEK9m (£0.7m) fine from the SGA for the infringement, with Mandalorian’s licence being limited to a period of two years.
The company appealed the decision on grounds of proportionality, but the Swedish Administrative Court ruled there was reason to limit the licence period.
In its decision, the court claimed limiting the licence to three years was a more proportionate punishment.
In June, a separate appeal by Mandalorian Technologies against the fine was dismissed by the Swedish courts. The operator argued it was being punished twice for the same offence by being fined and latterly by having its licence duration reduced.
However, the court ruled the appeal was invalid since Mandalorian’s complaint was primarily against the SGA’s decision-making process, rather than the infringement.
Paf has not commented on the court decision after being approached by EGR for comment.
Elsewhere, Åland-based Paf has thrown its support behind a Finnish licensing system by urging authorities to abandon the current monopoly-based model in favour of regulating international online gambling operators.