The Swedish gambling authority, Spelinspektionen, has fined online bookmaker Betfair for repeated breaches of its licensing conditions.
According to the authority’s announcement, Betfair offered betting odds on Sweden’s U21 Allsvenskan (soccer league). Betting on U21 sports is prohibited under Swedish gambling laws. Gambling may only be offered on the four top tiers of football in Sweden.
Betfair Fined by Swedish Gambling Regulator for Allowing Betting on U21 Football Betfair Fined by Swedish Gambling Regulator for Allowing Betting on U21 FootballAs a result of the company’s systematic breaches, Spelinspektionen made the decision to fine Betfair SEK4 million (€350,841). Breaches like this could result in a revocation or suspension of an operator’s license, however, the regulator deemed that the measures Betfair had taken to prevent the breach from happening again were sufficient and so issued the company with a serious warning.
This brings the total fines for 2023 to more than €49.2 million with Betfair’s fine being the first issued this year by the Swedish regulator.
According to industry fines tracker website GamblingIndustryFines.com, gambling industry fines in 2022 came to €251,712,034 / $269,532,490 – a significant increase of 443.9% compared to 2021’s total of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992.
