Swedish court lowers Genesis and Aspire Global penalty fees

The Administrative Court in Linköping, Sweden, has ruled that penalty fees issued to Genesis Global and Aspire Global for breaching self-exclusion regulations in the country should be reduced. Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen ordered Genesis to pay a penalty of SEK4m (£325,609/€382,757/$425,413) in March, while Aspire was issued a penalty of SEK3m in April related to its AG Communications Sweden subsidiary. Licensed operators in Sweden are required to integrate with the Spelpaus.se self-exclusion system as part of new laws that came into effect on January 1 when the country’s regulated online gambling market went live. According to the regulator, Genesis and Aspire, both of which hold licences in the country, did not adhere to these rules. Some consumers that had self-excluded said they were able to gamble on sites operated by Genesis, while AG and Aspire cited issues with integrating with Spelpaus.se as the reason for non-compliance. The Administrative Court agreed with the regulator that both of the operators should face punishment, stating Spelinspektionen was right to issue warnings and penalty fees. The Court also agreed with the decision to calculate the penalty fees based on each of the operator’s gross turnover, before paid profits. However, the Court estimated that each operator’s turnover was lower than the regulator had calculated, and therefore ruled the penalty fees should be reduced to reflect this finding. The Administrative Court has played a key role in legal disputes during the first year of regulated online gambling in Sweden, passing rulings on a number of cases. This month, an appeal against Spelinspektionen’s decision to limit Videoslots’ operating licence to a two-year term concluded with the operator having its licence extended to 31 December, 2023. Last month, Sweden’s Administrative Court rejected an appeal from Global Gaming to overturn a decision to strip its SafeEnt subsidiary of its licence in the country. Spelinspektionen also claimed victory in an Administrative Court case in October over its decision to award a limited licence to a number of online gaming brands owned and run by Cherry AB.