Svenska Spel slapped with SEK100m penalty over duty of care shortcomings

The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has issued Svenska Spel with a SEK100m (£7.5m) penalty and a warning after it was found to have failed to protect players from excessive gambling.

These failings were found during an audit by the regulator into how the state-owned operator, among other things, was complying with its duty of care to players per Sweden’s Gambling Act. 

During the review, the SGA examined how Svenska Spel dealt with 10 customers who lost the most money between 17 October 2021 and 17 December 2021. 

From the SGA’s viewpoint, all 10 customers showed signs of excessive gambling by having high deposit limits, making large deposit and racking up large losses. 

The regulator also found that most of the customers in question made several deposits in a day, played at night and played multiple times a week. 

It was also noted that some of these customers had previous self-exclusions and recorded long login times, and the length of the play sessions had increased over time.

The SGA judged that most of these customers had the most serious risk level in the gambling monitoring tool, while a couple were at the very high risk, and the rest were at a high-risk level.

During the investigation, Svenska Spel objected to the factors of length of login time and frequency of gambling, as these are not included in the gambling monitoring tool. The operator also said that examining what a player is doing while logged in is more important, indicating actual game session length as a better indicator of excessive gambling. 

However, the fact that the lottery, sports betting and casino operator disregards session length and frequency of logins as a relevant factor in determining excessive gambling, then according to the SGA, the player’s gambling behaviour is not being fully monitored. 

After the SGA established that the aforementioned players’ behaviours were excessive, it looked at what measures Svenska Spel took to reduce their gambling. 

The regulator found that while the customers did receive messages about their gambling behaviour and patterns or, as the operator put it, “nudges”, the operator did not make any follow-ups even though some of the customers had previously self-excluded and one of the customers had just turned 24.

Those aged 25 and under have been deemed a vulnerable group to gambling harm and the regulator said such individuals needed further protection.  

Svenska Spel said it spreads these calls over several days, but the regulator said because of this elongated time period between calls, a person’s gambling could escalate further. The SGA provided the example of a customer who was receiving messages about their gambling, who was able to deposit SEK150,000 into their account and continue playing, while receiving these messages. 

Overall, the SGA concluded that Svenska Spel had not taken measures in time or to a sufficient extent to protect players from excessive gambling and help them reduce their gambling. 

As a result of the findings, Svenska Spel must pay a penalty of SEK100m.

In response to the regulator’s findings, Svenska Spel published a statement in which it said that since the review period, it has taken further steps to develop its responsible gambling tools, including income checks for those who wish to set high deposit limits, as well as better way of selecting people for welfare calls. 

The operator confirmed that those who can’t be reached via these calls will have their accounts suspended until they can be ensured to be in control of their gambling. The operator has also introduced new measures for those aged between 18 and 19, including a mandatory income review for those that want to set a gambling limit of SEK1,000 per month.

Fredrik Wastenson, CEO and business area manager for Svenska Spel, commented: “We take the Gambling Inspectorate’s decision to heart. The inspection period covers October to December 2021, and we have already addressed many of the views. We have a high level of ambition in the work with our gaming responsibility. 

“Since the duty of care was introduced in 2019, it has become clearer how it should be interpreted through the Gaming Authority’s guidance and supervisory decisions. We have adjusted our work as the picture became clearer. We are constantly developing our work, our methods and our technical ability to not only live up to the legislation but also our own high ambition.”

Wastenson said that the SGA made a different assessment than how it undertakes its gambling behaviour assessment, and it was currently deciding whether or not to appeal the regulator’s decision.