Swedish appeal court upholds SEK44m penalties against bet365 operators

Hillside (Gaming) ENC and Hillside (Sports) ENC have failed in their most recent Swedish appeal. The Administrative Court of Appeal sided with the earlier conclusions that the two bet365 operators broke player protection rules and deposit limit requirements. Warnings and financial penalties of SEK40m for Hillside (Sports) ENC and SEK4m for Hillside (Gaming) ENC therefore remain in force. The court's decision came on 8 October.

The dispute revolved around bet365.com. At issue was whether the operators took sufficient steps to spot signs of harmful gambling and act on them. According to Swedish authorities, customers who showed clear indicators of excessive gambling did not receive stronger intervention quickly enough, and the companies also breached rules that require players to set deposit limits. Hillside (Sports) ENC maintained that its responsible gambling systems were appropriate and that the regulator had drawn its conclusions from a small number of customer cases.

The ruling is the latest stage in a long-running dispute between the operator and the Swedish regulator. The court upheld warnings for both companies alongside the sanction fees.