Swedish court rejects Lottoland appeal against fine

In June 2019 Lottoland was issued with a warning and an SEK700,000 fine by Spelinspektionen, for allowing players to bet on the outcome of lottery draws, via its dot.se site. 

While Lottoland is licensed to offer online casino and sports betting in the market, the regulator said at the time that it was required to secure permission from the lottery operator – in this case Svenska Spel – to offer betting on draws. 

As such it was issued with a warning by Spelinspektionen, and the fine. 

While this was appealed by Lottoland, the Administrative Court ruled that not only had it offered betting on the outcome of draws without the consent of Svenska Spel, but it also presented this in a way that suggested it organised these draws. 

It therefore ruled that Spelinpektionen was justified in issuing the punishment, though gave the operator leave to appeal its decision.

The lottery operator, Svenska Spel, has long been a vocal opponent of lottery betting, which it claims cannibalises traditional lottery revenue.

However, its claims that lottery betting makes up 40% of the European lottery market were met with scepticism, especially as this was revealed to include figures from widely available and widely regulated lottery brokerage businesses.