SGA bans two unlicensed operators for offering gambling to Swedish players
Swedish Gambling Authority cracks down on black-market firms with first banning orders of the year handed to CS:GO skin site and Gamdom parent companies
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has banned two operators for offering services to Swedish players without a licence.
Both Smein Hosting and True Polygon Entertainment were found to have been operating in the Nordic market by the regulator in what are the first banning orders of 2024.
The SGA said investigations were opened after “suspicions arose” as to whether the pair were providing games to Swedish players despite not owning a licence.
In the case of True Polygon Entertainment, which is based in Cyprus, the firm was found to be operating the csgobig.com site.
In its assessment, the SGA said that True Polygon and it affiliate partners had been directing marketing to Swedish customers and had not prevented customers in Sweden from signing up to the site.
Curaçao-based Smein Hosting NV was ruled to have been the company behind gamdom.eu and gamdom.com, as well as gamdom.io, TRGamdom.com, gamdom.win and gamdom.vip.
Similarly True Polygon, the SGA established that Smein Hosting was providing its services in Sweden as the company markets itself to Swedish customers via affiliate partners.
Gamdom was one of the operators to be added to Twitch’s blacklist in August as part of the streaming firm’s push back against unlicensed firms.
Both companies were offered the chance to make a statement, but none were received by the SGA.
In both of the SGA’s assessments, the regulator stated: “The Gambling Act applies to games provided in Sweden, with specifically stated exceptions.
“It is a prohibition legislation that is based on the principle that everyone who acts on the Swedish gaming market must have a licence.
“It is therefore not permitted to provide games without a licence when one is required.
“The Swedish Gaming Authority considers that, with regard to consumer protection and to guarantee gaming safety, it is important that the decision is complied with immediately. The decision must therefore apply immediately.”
The two cases were investigated by Ewa Gabrielsson and decision taken by unit manager Robert Larsson.
The SGA issued four banning orders to non-compliant firms in 2023 which was a decrease from the seven handed out in 2022.