LeoVegas wins Swedish licence extension

LeoVegas’ Swedish licence has been extended to five years following a successful appeal in the Swedish courts, it was announced today.

In a hearing at the Swedish Administrative Court in Linköping, judges dismissed a prior Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) decision to limit LeoVegas’ Swedish licence to two years.

The limit was originally imposed because of regulatory failings in other jurisdictions, specifically a UK Gambling Commission sanction issued against LeoVegas in May 2018 for misleading advertising and failings in its self-exclusion policies.

Judges said the SGA had not acted disproportionately in limiting the licence but as the failings had occurred in 2016, more than two years prior to the SGA assuming responsibility for regulation, the decision to limit the licence was incorrect.

In its appeal, LeoVegas had argued the SGA were acting in a “disproportionate” manner, claiming the arbitrary limiting of licences was “punitive” and incompatible in realizing the objectives of the Swedish licensing system.

LeoVegas claimed the SGA did not “fulfill its investigative duty” by basing the decision solely on the press release from the UKGC. It also highlighted its own initiation of the case which resulted in the fine, after identifying issues within its own policies and subsequently working to address them.

In a statement LeoVegas general counsel Vala Karimi welcomed the decision as a “very positive” one which gives the company an opportunity to focus on compliance.

The SGA has said it is currently considering an appeal against the decision.