bet365 fined by Swedish regulator over deposit limit failures
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, has handed Hillside, the operator behind bet365, two separate penalties over failures linked to customer care and deposit limits, SBC News reports.
The sports betting arm was fined SEK 40m, around £3m, while the gaming arm received a SEK 4m penalty. Both companies were also issued formal warnings rather than having their licences revoked.
According to SBC News, the violations date back to between 1 January 2019 and 19 April 2022. During that period, both sides of bet365’s Swedish business allowed customers to select a “no limit” option when setting their deposit limits. In practice there was a hidden technical ceiling of SEK 500m, but Spelinspektionen ruled this did not meet the statutory requirement to set an actual numeric limit.
The scale of that hidden limit stands out against bet365’s reported Swedish turnover. SBC News states the sports operation generated gross gaming revenue of SEK 724.5m in 2021, with the gaming arm adding SEK 69m. A single customer reaching the undisclosed SEK 500m cap would have added roughly 63% to the operator’s total Swedish GGR for that year, per the outlet’s figures.
Why Spelinspektionen stopped short of suspending bet365’s licence
Spelinspektionen described the failures as serious and systematic but chose warnings over suspension because Hillside introduced corrective measures during and after the regulatory audit, SBC News reports. These reportedly include manual reviews triggered once a player loses more than SEK 10,000 in a month, earlier checks aimed at young adults aged 18 to 24, and closer monitoring of players returning after a period of self-exclusion. The operator is also said to have suspended or restricted accounts once internal high-risk flags were raised.
The penalties were reduced from an initial SEK 65m and SEK 14m. SBC News notes that Swedish rules cap sanction fees at 10% of an operator’s annual turnover, and that Hillside’s cooperation with the regulator was also taken into account.
bet365’s position in the Swedish market
SBC News reports that bet365 ranks as the fourth-largest operator in Sweden according to the Blask Index, trailing state-owned AB Trav och Galopp, Svenska Spel, and an offshore operator identified only as NV casino. The outlet also notes that Spelinspektionen has pursued infractions against several other licensed brands, including Betsson, ComeOn Group’s Snabbare, Mr Green, ATG and Kanon Gaming, over the past year or so.
bet365 declined to comment on the penalties when approached by SBC News.