Swedish regulator issues sanctions over bonus failures

Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has again hit Genesis Global and AG Communications, the Swedish-facing subsidiary of Aspire Global, with financial penalties, this time relating to bonus offers promoted by each operator. The sanctions relate to offers for ‘recurring’ bonuses, where players can receive multiple amounts of money through a single offer, which the regulator noted was in breach of the regulations governing bonuses. Swedish regulations dictate that customers may only be offered a single, non-recurring bonus upon sign up.  Although the regulator acknowledged both operators stated they did not pay out any of the bonuses in question, the fact they advertised the offers in the first place is enough to deem them in breach. Spelinspektionen classes a bonus as a discount or a similar financial incentive that is directly linked to a game or service on their platform. Genesis Global has been ordered to pay SEK1.7m (£141,460/€160,205/$179,009) and AG Communications SEK500,000. “Gaming bonuses already pose a high risk from a social responsibility perspective, since many individuals with gambling problems have been attracted to them,” the reuglator said. “The main purpose of the new gambling regulation, which came into force on January 1, 2019, is to strengthen consumer protection and reduce the negative effects of gambling,” it explained. “The limitation on bonuses is included in the law to reduce social and economic harms and to tackle problem gambling.” Genesis Global and AG Communications are not the first operators to feel the force of Spelinspektionen’s strict bonus rules, with the regulator last month issuing SEK5m and SEK9m penalties to Betway and Mandalorian Technologies, respectively. Both Genesis Global and AG Communications have also previously faced sanctions for failing to integrate Spelpaus.se self-exclusion program in Sweden, meaning self-excluded players could have signed up for an account with either operator. In April, AG Communications was handed a SEK3m penalty, while Genesis was hit with a SEK4m sanction in March.