Spelinspektionen Issues a Remark for Betsson over Football Betting Breaches

Last year, the Gambling Act in Sweden was amended in a way to prohibit licensed sportsbooks from accepting bets on penalties such as yellow cards in football. According to a statement released by the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate (Spelinspektionen) on Monday, Betsson received a reprimand regarding breaches of those rules.

Spelinspektionen Finds That Betsson Accepted Bets on Penalties

Spelinspektionen announced that it received a tip regarding betting on penalties, which is in violation of the current rules in the country. The tip dates back to a football match that was played in May 2021. The match in question was played between Malmö and Elfsborg on May 20, 2021.

According to Spelinspektionen, Betsson breached the betting rules for that Allsvenskan match by allowing users to place bets on penalties. The operator disagreed and said that betting has only been offered as a part of a combination game.

Betsson Nordic Ltd has offered betting on penalties for breaches of rules in a football match, which is not permitted in connection with a match, competition or tournament,”

reads a statement released by Spelinspektionen

However, Spelinspektionen outlined that the type of game doesn’t make any difference, meaning that the operator has breached the current rules. Considering that this was a high-level match, the gambling watchdog acknowledged that the “risk of undue influence by players and referees should be seen as lower than in some other contexts.”

Betsson Takes Immediate Action, Avoids Fine

Spelinspektionen revealed that Betsson was made aware that it has received a total of 30 bets on penalties for approximately $342 (SEK 3,000) in turnover. With that in mind, still, the company did not consider that the bets conflicted with the current rules and regulations.

Regardless, Betsson took immediate action and declared the games void. Consequently, the company returned the stakes to all of the players. Although a third-party supplier offered the betting on penalties, Betsson ensured that it has taken measures to ensure that there are no such occurrences in the future.

Based on the degree of seriousness that the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate has assessed with regard to the violation, a remark is a sufficient intervention,”

said Spelinspektionen

The company said that it has developed a technology solution to prevent betting on penalties. Similar action was taken by the third-party provider to ensure that there are no future breaches of the regulation. Last but not least, the company stressed that it believed that there hasn’t been any risk of match-fixing regarding the current case. Considering the operator’s actions, Spelinspektionen concluded that a remark is a sufficient intervention in this case.