Sweden Bans Three Gambling Companies, Including Two Skins Betting Brands

Sweden’s gambling regulator, the Spelinspektionen, announced that it has taken action against three gambling operators. As announced, the authority has banned two companies that operated without a license and a company that, in addition to lacking the necessary license, actively promoted its content to Swedish audiences.

According to the Spelinspektionen, two of the banned companies, namely Newera Frozen PTE Limited and Aprodi Ltd, offered video game skin gambling without having the necessary license. The two companies, according to the regulator, organized unlicensed game of chance where players would stake video game cosmetics as currency.

Skin gambling, for reference, is a form of gambling that has been growing increasingly popular thanks to the rapid expansion of the esports sector. When gambling with skins, players could potentially win video game cosmetics worth thousands of dollars.

The appeal of skin gambling to younger players has resulted in multiple controversies involving the vertical.  

In the meantime, the Spelinspektionen also banned Galaktika NV, which directed its gaming portfolio to Swedish consumers. While the operator tried to justify its actions, saying that it didn’t target Sweden in particular but rather all of Europe, the authority insisted that it should have been more careful with its online marketing.

The Spelinspektionen concluded that it will continue to transparently communicate its regulatory actions and will publish its decisions to ban illegal online operators on its official website.

The Authority Fined Two Companies for Regulatory Violations

In other news, the Spelinspektionen recently fined several gambling operators and providers over regulatory violations.

These included Svenska Spel, Sweden’s state-owned gambling operator, which received a huge $9.5 million fine for a series of gambling responsibility failings. According to the regulator, the company’s online arm, Svenska Spel Sports & Casino, did not succeed in taking the necessary measures to protect at-risk consumers from harm, allowing them to lose huge amounts of money without properly assisting them in cutting their gambling.

In the meantime, the gambling authority also fined Yggdrasil, a leading content provider, saying that the company provided software to an unlicensed operator. This was the first such penalty handed by the Spelinspektionen and was in line with Sweden’s new B2B licensing requirements. As a result, Yggdrasil had to pay a fine of SEK 300,000.