ComeOn to appeal Swedish fine as CEO warns of regulatory “slippery slope”
Lahcene Merzoug points to unclear regulations saying industry is unsure how even to define a bonus at present
ComeOn is appealing its fine for offering underage betting in Sweden, with the operator’s CEO Lahcene Merzoug criticising the “slippery slope” the regulator is on.
The firm’s Casinostugan brand was fined for offering betting on one game with underage players – one of eight operators hit with a fine for underage betting at the start of July, with multiple firms also appealing the decisions.
Speaking to EGR this week, Merzoug said ComeOn was having “the same problems as lots of operators” thanks to “unclear regulations”.
“All these cases will probably be tried in in court,” Merzoug said. “And then maybe we’ll have clarity but it’s a bit of a waste of time because it could have been defined earlier on to avoid confusion for us and more importantly players.
“The problem is, even if the court does clarify, it will take a year, a year and a half. And how should you interpret the law until then? Should you comply with what they have stated with the fines, even if experts and operators think there are mistakes in that? It’s a slippery slope.”
Swedish law says operators should not take bets on events where the majority of participants are under the age of 18, but operators claim they have been fined when only one participant was under 18.
The confusion has caused Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) to close its sportsbook offering to avoid further fines, but the decision is more difficult for firms with larger sportsbook revenues.
“It’s a risky situation now,” Merzoug added. “We strive to be 100% compliant, but our teams make one interpretation of the law and it seems like the regulator is doing something else, and then we have to constantly re-evaluate what to do.
“People have a hard time even defining what a bonus is at the minute and that’s quite a crucial concept in our industry.”
ComeOn is currently the second-largest non-state-owned operator in Sweden behind only Kindred according to tax data through May, although Merzoug said he expects to take the top spot in the near future.
Swedish market leaders. Source: Redeye