Spelinspektionen Asks Zimpler to Cease Provision of Services to Unlicensed Companies

The Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, has asked payment solution provider Zimpler to cease its business with unlicensed operators that target the country. According to the authority, the payments firm should stop offering its products that use the Swedish identity verification system BankID.

The Spelinspektionen explained that it had learned about Zimpler’s violation thanks to an anonymous report. Following that, the inspectorate launched an investigation to confirm its correctness.

As a result, the Spelinspektionen found out that a number of unlicensed gambling websites leveraged Zimpler’s payment solutions, allowing customers to use them to make deposits. In addition, the regulator noted that certain websites used Zimpler as their only deposit method.

Finally, the authority noted that Zimpler’s logo, which would usually appear on licensed operators’ websites, did not appear on unlicensed sites. In addition, some sites suspiciously lacked information about Zimpler and a customer could only learn of payment provider if they clicked on the terms of use.

The Spelinspektionen reprimanded Zimpler for its collaboration with companies that target the Swedish market without having a license. As a result, the authority asked the payment provider to immediately cease its business with any unlicensed operators.

The payments company must stop the provision of its services to unlicensed companies by July 31, lest it risk a fine. The Spelinspektionen said that it will issue a fine of $2.3 million if the provider fails to abide.

Zimpler Will Comply, Although Its Disagrees with the Regulator

Zimpler addressed the issue, saying that it failed to see its actions as unauthorized promotion of unlicensed gambling companies. Despite that, the company agreed to stop dealing with European companies that lack a license to offer gambling in Sweden but accept Swedish customers.

Zimpler declared that it has already initiated the process and promised to wrap it up in Q3 at the latest.

Despite that, the company noted that not all of its European partners target Sweden and that none of its customers are included in Spelinspektionen’s list of companies that illegally target the local market.

The payment provider noted that it carefully examines any new clients and takes many measures to ensure regulatory compliance. The company added that it always keeps the right to terminate a business relationship with a company that illegally targets the Swedish market.