Bet365, Flutter and GVC lose Swedish appeal against underage betting fines
Six firms including Bethard win penalty appeals as £800k regulatory penalty sticks for bet365 and Stars Group
Bet365, Flutter Entertainment and GVC have all lost court appeals to reduce or remove penalties levied by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) for offering betting on underage football matches.
The Swedish Administrative Court in Linköping revealed the results of the appeals by 11 operators against fines first implemented by the SGA in July 2019.
Bet365 and The Stars Group were fined SEK10m (£800k) each, while Flutter and GVC received fines of SEK5.5m (£440k) respectively.
Separate appeals by six other firms have resulted in a partial reduction of the fines levied.
An appeal from Bethard against its SEK2.5m SGA fine was successful after the ruling was completely dismissed and referred back to the regulator, with a complaint registered against the SGA over its handling of the fine.
“The violation is not contested, but also not serious. The gaming inspection had therefore, no reason to give the company a warning. The decision should therefore be repealed and Bethard should pay no fine because there is no reason to make an intervention, instead a comment is given,” the court said.
Bethard CEO Erik Skarp welcomed the ruling, saying he was “happy and relieved” that the court shared the firms position.
“Bethard has always taken a firm and active role against match fixing, and we have taken technical measures since the incident occurred to prevent this from happening again, and we will continue to our work to in providing a secure platform for our players to enjoy,”Skarp added.
All the firms involved requested the fines be cancelled on grounds that the SGA did not issue clear guidance to operators on its interpretation of Swedish Gambling Act regulations on underage players.
The act states that betting markets should not be offered on football matches or sporting events where the majority of individuals are under the age of 18.
In the case of bet365, the court said the company had seriously violated Swedish law and there was no reason for the SGA not to levy a fine.
The court also said the bookmaker had not justified its case for the removal of the fine and that the SGA’s judgment could be considered “well balanced” against the circumstances.
The SGA is now analysing each of the respective judgments to determine if there is any reason to launch an appeal against the court’s decision.