SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate, Spelinspektionen, has made another ruling against a Curacao gambling business, banning online operator Disrupt Entertainment.
Issuing an update, Spelinspektionen detailed that Disrupt Entertainment had been providing information in Swedish and conditions for game participation in Swedish on the website of its Casinosinners brand.
The Swedish authority initially launched a supervisory case into Disrupt Entertainment after becoming suspicious that the company was delivering services in the country without a licence.
Registered in the city of Curacao in the Netherlands, Disrupt Entertainment operates under a local egaming license, but is not licenced for commercial activity in the Swedish market.
Under the terms of the country’s Gaming Act, Swedish gaming authorities maintain that if a company provides information and conditions for participation in Swedish, it can be deemed to be targeting the national market and its consumers.
“The Gaming Inspectorate assesses that Disruptive Entertainment Limited N.V. provides games in Sweden because the company on the website casinosinners.com has information in Swedish and that the company has the conditions for participation in the game in Swedish,” the Inspectorate detailed.
“The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate considers, with regard to consumer protection and to guarantee gaming safety, that it is important that the decision is complied with immediately. The decision must therefore apply immediately.”
Last week, Spelinspektionen informed relevant financial authorities that 23 Curacao-registered betting and gaming businesses had been illegally providing their services in Sweden.
As part of wider Swedish strategy against black market operators, Spelinspektionen can directly cooperate with the Swedish Tax Agency, Finansinspektionen (FCA) and the Swedish Consumer Agency in order to strengthen its enforcement capabilities.
Developments last week saw the three agencies collaborate on the imposition of payment injunctions and IP bans against the 23 Dutch operator’s online properties.
Sweden’s legislators and government are currently in the process of developing the key-criteria of the stage-2 amendments to its Gambling Law.
Spelinspektionen has remained largely supportive of reform to the country’s gambling legislation, siding with the recommendations of the country’s Finance Ministry, which would enforce a watershed on casino advertising.
