bet365 and SGA Have Appeals Over 2021 Penalty Fee Rejected

Leading global betting brand founded in 2000, bet365, and the Swedish Gaming Authority (SGA) have had their appeals on a dispute originating in 2021 rejected by a Court of Appeal in Jönköping.

Backstory 

On March 28, 2020, the sports betting brand that currently employs 7,000+ people and counts more than 90 million customers worldwide provided betting on a soccer fixture between Kronängs IF and Mariedals IK. 

Out of the 34 players on the two team’s squad lists, 24 were under 18. In other words, according to the detailed review of the friendly match by the Swedish regulator, 71% of players were minors. 

According to Chapter 8 section 2.2 of the Swedish Gambling Act, licensed sports betting operators are not allowed to offer betting on sporting events where most participants are underage. 

At the time, bet365 argued it had no reason to suspect that such a large number of players would be underaged since the contest was scheduled between two “senior” teams. 

SEK 1 Million ($93,900) Penalty Fee, Appealed

The group later on invalidated all bets and returned the stakes to its customers. In March 2021, bet365 was asked to pay a penalty fee of SEK 1 million ($93,900).

The group, which was trading in Sweden under Hillside Media, decided to appeal the decision to Linköping’s administrative court. 

The latter cut the penalty to SEK 400,000 ($37,577) in November 2021.

This, however, did not suffice for bet365. The group made another appeal, asking for another penalty fee reduction. 

The SGA followed suit and also appealed, asking for the lower figure to be boosted to SEK 700,000 ($65.759), which would have taken it closer to the original penalty.

The Court of Appeal in Jönköping denied both appeals and kept the penalty fee to SEK 400,000, an amount which they called “well-balanced.” 

The court also noted that bet365 had stopped offering marketing on all under-19, under-21, under-22, and under-23 games in the country.

The same Court of Appeal also issued verdicts on Casinostugan, ComeOn, Hajper, Snabbare, and XC Gaming. All five companies belong to the ComeOn Group. 

The operator managed to secure a victory against the regulator and have two of the penalty fees reduced on appeal, lowering the initial collective fine of SEK 175 million ($16.4 million).

Earlier in the week, the Swedish Gambling Authority fined Hacksaw Studios and Panda Bluemoon for offering games to unlicensed operators.