In 2025, the Swedish gambling regulatory authority Spelinspektionen continues to intensify its anti-money laundering (AML) supervision, with Betsson Nordic Ltd being one of the three companies penalized for AML violations. Betsson was fined 6.5 million Swedish kronor (approximately $682,000) due to serious deficiencies in its AML measures in Sweden.
In May 2024, Spelinspektionen initiated regulatory actions against Betsson, focusing on reviewing customer transaction records during 2023. The regulator sampled 10 out of the 50 customers aged between 18 to 29 who had the highest deposit amounts, requesting Betsson to provide account information and transaction history for these customers. The results showed that only two customers were compliant, while the remaining eight had issues.
One customer made 163 deposits between September and December 2023, totaling 492,000 Swedish kronor, yet their annual net income was only 310,000 kronor, and their risk rating was incorrectly assessed as low to medium. The regulatory authority pointed out that Betsson erroneously "legalized" deposits exceeding the player's income by referencing the amount of winnings the player had previously withdrawn.
Spelinspektionen stated: "These deficiencies are both serious and systemic, and given Betsson's financial condition, the penalty amount of 6.5 million Swedish kronor is proportionate to the severity of the violations."
Additionally, Snabbare Ltd and Flutter Entertainment's The Stars Group (TSG) Interactive were also fined for AML negligence. TSG was fined 7 million Swedish kronor, and Snabbare was fined 5.5 million Swedish kronor.
The investigation found that TSG allowed several customers to have net deposits exceeding 424,000 Swedish kronor within a year without timely enhanced customer due diligence measures, increasing the risk of money laundering. Snabbare was similarly criticized by the regulatory authority for allowing customer deposits to exceed their annual income, indicating insufficient customer understanding and slow response.
Spelinspektionen described the violations of these three companies as "serious and systemic," with a total penalty amounting to 19 million Swedish kronor.
The regulatory authority has been active recently, issuing fines last week to several lottery-operating charitable and political organizations, including the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party and its youth and women's leagues, for failing to effectively manage contractors and for marketing violations, resulting in a 3 million kronor fine.
In early May this year, Kindred's subsidiary Spooniker was fined 10 million Swedish kronor for violating anti-money laundering regulations, and Videoslots was fined 12 million kronor in April for failing to prevent excessive gambling.
The high-pressure regulatory stance of Spelinspektionen indicates that the Swedish gambling industry is facing stricter compliance requirements, and operators must strengthen their anti-money laundering and customer risk management efforts to avoid further penalties.
