SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, has issued a ban for igaming provider Hitz Gaming OÜ over the supply of an unlicensed offering.
According to the regulator, Estonia-registered Hitz Gaming was targeting Swedish consumers through a string of websites that do not have the required certification to be a gambling service in Sweden.
A covert investigation by Spelinspektionen into one of these websites, ‘wisho.com’, revealed that Swedish customers were unobstructed when registering a player account for the specific service.
Other websites that have been found to be linked with the Hitz Gaming brand include ‘winnerz.com’, ‘trickz.com’ and ‘celebrino.com’.
As further evidence as to why there are grounds to believe that Swedish customers have been specifically targeted, Spelinspektionen revealed that Hitz Gaming has used a Swedish-based affiliate, nilslegend.net, to promote its services and boost its brand recognition.
What’s more, the payment gateway used as a deposit method on the various Hitz websites was Quickbit, trading as QB Europe AB, which the regulator highlighted is registered with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, making it a major player in the Swedish fintech space.
Also on the aspect of payments, Spelinspektionen revealed that players were also given BankID as an option, which is a method of financial identification available only in Sweden.
Hitz Gaming OÜ offered an explanation of the situation with a statement that read: “The company no longer has contractual relations with the affiliates who have marketed the company’s games towards Sweden and has given instructions to their partners that no marketing for their websites may be directed towards Sweden.
“The payment service solution used is designed for the gaming industry, but not specifically for the Swedish market. The e-identification BankID is used for payment because it is the national authentication system in Sweden, in other countries the respective country’s corresponding system is used instead.
“Hitz Gaming OÜ thus believes that their games cannot be considered to be provided in Sweden, because they do not meet the connection factors to be considered to target the Swedish market. Furthermore, Hitz Gaming OÜ questions the applicability of the connection factor ’the company uses payment service providers that are registered in Sweden or are exclusively or largely used by Swedish consumers’.”
However, Spelinspektionen has remained firm in its assessment, which has subsequently resulted in the issuing of Hitz Gaming’s ban, effective with immediate effect.
The ban can be taken down only if the operator acquires the necessary licensing. Additionally, Hitz Gaming can appeal the decision in court if it believes that there are grounds to argue unjust treatment.
