Swedish regulator launches appeal against “unjustified” Casino Cosmopol penalty reduction
Regulator claims lack of clarity in court ruling following operator challenge
The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) will appeal a Swedish Administrative Court decision to reduce the fine applicable to Casino Cosmopol by SEK5m (£400,000).
The SGA as said it did not consider the reduction justified, claiming the judgment of the court did not clearly show why the fee was reduced.
It argued it has sufficient grounds to appeal as the initial court ruling acknowledged there had been “serious and systematic” violations of Swedish gambling laws from the operator in the areas of money laundering.
Casino Cosmopol intially received an SEK8m fine from the SGA in November 2018, after regulators found it had treated every customer as a low-risk player, regardless of their respective risk profile.
Regulators also claimed shortcomings in player risk assessments, customer monitoring and that the firm had not denied an at-risk customer access to gambling despite being required to do so.
Following the fine, Casino Cosmopol launched an appeal, claiming the SGA was acting in a disproportionate way and citing no clear guidance in this area.
Earlier this month, the Swedish Administrative Court ruled that although there were sufficient deficiencies in Casino Cosmopol’s existing practices to justify a fine, the fine should be based on the “nature and extent” of the violations and reduced the fine accordingly to SEK3m.
Following the SGA’s confirmation an appeal will now be heard in the Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping.