Swedish Gambling Authority Bans SG International N.V. From Operating in Sweden

Update: The Swedish Gambling Authority has lifted the ban on SG International N.V. after the company made changes to become compliant with the requirements of Swedish legislation.

Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, has issued an order banning Curacao-based SG International N.V. from doing business in Sweden as it does not hold the necessary license. The company operates the brand LuckyCrypto (luckycrypto.com), among others.

SG International N.V. Offers Gambling Services to Swedish Clients Without the Necessary License

Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen has once again hit on a foreign gambling operator who is offering its product to customers from Sweden without abiding by the strict license requirements that Swedish gambling legislation stipulates.

The Swedish Gambling Authority started an investigation into SG International N.V. and its brand LuckyCrypto following suspicions that the company is targeting Swedish players and the Swedish market without holding a license to do so.  

After the Swedish regulator inspected the LuckyCrypto website it was revealed that the website offers various casino games so it conducts gambling activities. 

The regulator further found out that the website itself has information in Swedish, its Terms and Conditions have a version in Swedish and, furthermore, the website has marketing initiatives directed at Swedish customers.

The company that runs the website, SG International N.V., is registered in Curacao and holds a license there. However, the company does not have a license for offering gambling products in Sweden, a compulsory legal requirement in order to conduct any gambling activities in the country.

Furthermore, SG International N.V. has not ensured that Swedish residents are not able to register or create an account on their LuckyCrypto website, which also means that the website can be used by Swedish customers without the company holding the compulsory license.

As a result of all of these findings and as per Swedish gambling legislation, Spelinspektionen found that SG International N.V. does not have the right to offer gambling products on the Swedish market and banned the company from doing so. 

The decision is with immediate effect. In case SG International N.V. does not take action on the regulator’s decision further measures will follow, including fines.

Strict Gambling Regulations Ensure a Safe Market

Sweden’s strict gambling regulations aim to channel all gambling into offers from responsible, reliable, and verifiable operators. The legal requirements entail that all those operating in the Swedish gambling market must have a Swedish gambling license and that other unlicensed operators will be excluded.

The regulations are valid for all gambling operators and it does not matter if the company in question is registered in a country different from Sweden. 

In case the operator in question offers Swedish currency, allows deposits from Sweden, offers information and marketing in Swedish, and it is possible to register an account from Sweden, the operator’s activities are subject to the Swedish Gaming Act and it cannot operate on the Swedish market without a license.SG International N.V. is not the first Curacao-based company to suffer under the Swedish gambling regulator’s iron fist. In September, Ease Gaming N.V. was also banned from the Swedish market for the same reasons.