Bet365 handed SEK79m fine in Sweden over duty of care failings
Swedish Gambling Authority dishes out penalty to online giant over lack of player interventions and deposit limit deficiencies
Bet365 has been hit with a cumulative SEK79m (£6.1m) fine by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) over a “serious breach” of the operator’s duty of care processes.
The regulator meted out the fine to Hillside (Gaming) and Hillside (Sports), which offer online casino and sports betting, respectively, via bet365.com.
The group’s gaming arm was slapped with an SEK14m fine while its sports betting division was given a SEK65m penalty for respective shortcomings, namely around customer monitoring and deposit limits.
Both entities were also given a formal warning regarding the “serious and systematic violation of the gaming laws”.
On 21 December 2021, the SGA began an investigation into bet365 to ascertain if the operator was fulfilling its requirement that players must have an upper deposit limit for daily, weekly and monthly play.
The regulator looked at bet365 customers’ gameplay and interactions with the operator between 17 October and 17 December 2021.
However, the SGA found that the firm had only required customers to set deposit limits for those returning from self-suspension
Additionally, under Swedish regulations, licensed operators must contact players who wish to raise a deposit limit or specify a deposit amount larger than SEK10,000 per month.
Instead, the SGA reported that bet365 allowed those contact points to be conducted via an automated spending reminder. Bet365 claimed that when these prompts went unanswered, they were followed up with further reminders.
The regulator said that these messages came far too late in the customer journey, allowing some to deposit excessive amounts on a regular basis.
The regulator also said bet365 had failed to put processes in place to specifically protect young adults and previously suspended players.
In one example, a bet365 sports betting customer was able to lose SEK259,372 in two months after placing 240 bets. The same customer also gambled on a daily basis for a four-week period.
Elsewhere, gaming customers were regularly able to play excessively in the early hours of the morning without intervention from the operator.
One customer had no deposit limits on their account and, subsequently, made 105 deposits, one withdrawal and lost SEK104,512 during a two-month period.
The SGA found that bet365 made no contact with the customer other than two automated messages informing them of failed login attempts.
Bet365 said the group’s monitoring system, ERDS, separated customers into assorted risk categories, with interventions varying in severity based on a customer’s risk level.
Bet365 further contested the SGA’s decision, arguing it had adhered to Sweden’s regulations. The company also said it had updated its action plan with improved measures, including a specific focus on young players as well as players returning from suspension.
EGR has contacted bet365 for comment.