Swedish regulator reprimands ATG and Polar Limited over sports betting breaches
SGA walks back from issuing fines due to mitigating circumstances in both cases as operators admit system failings
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has reprimanded AB Trav och Galopp (ATG) and Coolbet operator Polar Limited after the pair admitted violating Swedish sports betting laws.
In February, ATG informed the SGA that it had offered betting on a horse where the jockey was under the age of 18 at the time of the race.
Swedish gambling laws prohibit operators from offering betting on any events where a majority of the participants are under the age of 18.
Several operators have already been fined for breaching this law in relation to betting on football matches, but this is the first instance of it occurring in betting on horseracing.
The firm, which holds the monopoly on betting on horseracing, provided the SGA with a full account of what had occurred and outlined what measures would be introduced to prevent recurrences, with these procedures being introduced on 24 February.
“There is nothing in the case to suggest that the infringement constitutes a systematic deficiency on the part of ATG or any of the company’s partners,” the SGA wrote, outlining its decision.
“The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate considers that the violation that ATG has committed should not be assessed as serious, but also not as minor or excusable,” the SGA added.
In this case, the SGA ruled that a warning was sufficient deterrence and did not add a fine.
In a separate case, Polar Limited, which operates the Coolbet brand in Sweden, also received a warning after admitting that it had offered betting on penalties and other in-game violations (red cards/yellow cards) in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match involving Sweden in March.
Under Swedish sports betting laws introduced in April 2020, offering betting on these markets on matches involving Sweden’s top four football divisions, the national under-21 side and the full Swedish international team is prohibited.
In response, Polar Limited stated that the betting had been offered by mistake to Swedish customers. All bets made were cancelled by Polar Limited and repaid back to the players.
Providing more detail on the reason for the error, the firm said it had previously blocked the ability to place bets on these types of markets but cited human error in this case.
“After the incident, Polar Limited has strengthened its routines to prevent similar situations in the future and takes what happened seriously,” the SGA wrote.
“There is no evidence that the infringement is due to a systematic defect in the company. According to the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate, these circumstances speak in a mitigating direction,” it added.
As with ATG, the SGA walked back from issuing Polar Limited with a fine, instead reprimanding the firm with a formal warning.