Swedish gambling regulator penalizes Bet365 for failing to uphold its social responsibility
Hillside ENC, which runs Bet365, was fined by the Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen for repeatedly failing to uphold social responsibility.
The authority assessed two fines:
A fine of SEK 14 million (€1,233,437) was imposed on Hillside (Gaming).
A fine of SEK 65 million (€5,726,671) was imposed on Hillside (Sports).
The company failed to take enough precautions, according to the regulator's announcement, to safeguard its customers from the negative effects of gambling on both its online casino and sports betting platforms. According to Spelinspektionen's investigation, Hillside repeatedly failed to assist gamblers in limiting their losses by engaging with them or putting restrictions on their accounts.
Failures of online casinos
In one case, despite significant losses of SEK 287,623 (€25,334) in one month for a customer who had been using the bet365 online casino since 2020, there were no deposit restrictions imposed by the operator. One of the social responsibility requirements of all license holders in Sweden is to impose deposit limits on customer accounts that may be exhibiting symptoms of problem gambling.
Another user of an online casino was advised to set a deposit cap on their account, but they ignored the advice from bet365. Despite the user's excessive gambling over a 5-day period, no further efforts to limit their deposits were made. The regulator views this as a serious breach of the operator's social responsibility.
Failures of sports wagering
An 18-year-old customer showed blatant signs of having a gambling problem, according to the investigation. These included an increase in daily deposits and excessive activity. The customer was contacted by Bet365 and asked to complete a self evaluation. The business decided there was no need for concern and granted the user unlimited access to further deposits. The regulator believes that more could have been done to prevent the user's losses, even though Bet365 did keep in touch with them about their activity.
Numerous other customers suffered substantial losses; one lost SEK 314,490 (€27,701). While Bet365 did contact the individuals, Spelinspektionen believed the messages did not adequately convey the gravity of the situation or draw attention to the risks associated with excessive gambling to persuade the users to place wagers or make deposits in moderation.
Hillside ENC (Bet365) has also received a warning regarding its responsibilities and future behavior toward potential problem gamblers as a result of the investigation into both the online casino and online sports betting platforms.
With Spelinspektionen's fines accounting for slightly more than €7.2 million of that total, the total fines for 2023 now exceed €56.1 million.
The gambling industry's fines in 2022 totaled €251,712,034 / $269,532,490, a significant increase of 443.9% compared to the sum in 2021 of €44,753,969 / $48,642,992, according to the industry fines tracker website GamblingIndustryFines.com.
