Sweden’s gambling regulator has fined Betfair SEK4m ($388,079) for allowing betting on under-21 soccer games.
customers placed wagers on games in the Allsvenskan U21 Swedish soccer league
Spelinspektionen’s financial penalty comes on the back of repeated breaches by the operator, in which customers placed wagers on games in the Allsvenskan U21 Swedish soccer league. Sportsbooks in Sweden can only legally offer betting markets on soccer games that cover the top four tiers of soccer in the country.
According to an investigation by the Swedish regulator, Betfair allowed wagering on a total of 148 U21 games during 2021 and 2022 on the Betfair Exchange. This saw 224 users place wagers on 139 games, with their bets totaling SEK1.1m ($106,722).
Spelinspektionen, otherwise known as the Swedish Gambling Authority, will now only permit Betfair to offer wagering on the top two tiers of Swedish soccer. It has also put new controls in place to ensure that a similar issue doesn’t arise in the future. The gambling regulator believes these steps are sufficient to prevent any future issues.
Spelinspektionen can suspend or revoke an operator’s license if issues are serious enough. It often takes into account the turnover of the guilty operator when deciding on the size of fines.