Swedish Gaming Regulator Bans Disrupt Entertainment from Country

The Swedish gambling regulatory body, Spelinspektionen, has banned Disrupt Entertainment from offering its services on the territory of the country. The regulator stated that Disrupt’s brand, Casinosinners, has advertised to Swedish players directly in Swedish. 

However, the company had no formal license issued by the country’s regulator to do so. Spelinspektionen was tipped to Casinosinners potential violations by consumer complaints, opening a probe and investigating the matter further, which concluded with its final decision to prohibit the brand on the country’s territory. 

Casinosinners Operates with Curacao License 

Casinosinners operates out of Curacao and uses a local license. However, the Curacao license is not necessarily recognized in countries with strict gambling regulations, including all of the Nordics. While a Curacao license may be supplementary to an operator’s country-specific license, it’s not enough to operate on it alone.

The Gaming Act specifically rules out against operators that have no license issued by Spelinspektionen, dubbing such operators offshore. Commenting on the case, Spelinspektionen said that Disruptive Entertainment Limited N.V. provides information in Swedish without the applicable licenses. 

“Spelinspektionen considers, with regard to consumer protection and to guarantee gaming safety, that it is important that the decision is complied with immediately. The decision must therefore apply immediately.”

Spelinspektionen

Curacao is currently a fairly lax jurisdiction when it comes to the issuance of gaming licenses, or at least, the licenses in the country are not recognized by some of the most strictly regulated and grossing markets in the industry. The Dutch government has spoken previously that it would expect Curacao to amend the way it issues licenses and exert more pressure on stakeholders and future applicants to meet safety and consumer standards. 

Dutch Authorities Urge Curacao to Elevate Licensing Standards 

That was tied to a promise from the Dutch government to assist with COVID-19 relief funds as Curacao quickly saw tourism diminish, and the country sought help from the kingdom’s government. To clear up any confusion, Curacao is a constituent country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

Spelinspektionen has taken a broader approach towards clamping down on offenses committed by Curacao-licensed entities. Last week, the regulator notified financial authorities that at least 23 operators running their businesses under Curacao permits are breaching the Gambling Act and targeting Swedish consumers without a legal right to do so. 

In October, Spelinspektionen began a review of the online gambling restrictions applying to operators and how they impacted the market, consumers, and prevalence of unlicensed gambling operators.