ShareThe Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) cautioned Betway for violating license restrictions governing minimum equity requirements. The commission ordered Betway's annual report and audited financial statements for the 2019 fiscal year in July 2020.
Betway lost €50.3 million ($56.5 million) over this period and had negative equity of €4.8 million ($5.4 million). The SGA argues that an operator's risk increases with negative equity and has requested Betway to remedy its negative equity issue. As a result, Betway received a capital guarantee from its parent company in October 2021.
According to Sweden's gaming regulation, Betway lacks capital and relies entirely on parent company support. The commission further stated that the parent company's capital assurance only covers a portion of the negative equity.
Caution
Betway violated the Swedish Playing Act regulation, which describes how licensed operators must demonstrate their suitability for operation in the market. As a result, the Swedish Gambling Authority issued a warning to Betway for this "small" infraction, but the commission did not charge a financial penalty. Betway claims that its previous statements show a solid financial position and satisfy all license requirements moving forward.It wasn't the first instance that Betway had trouble with the SGA. In December, Betway was fined SEK100,000 ($10,773) for inadvertently granting access to a bonus campaign intended as a welcome offer for one of the company's smaller brands to all of its customers.
Heavily Controlled Market
Since the start of the country's regulated market in January 2019, Betway has been operating in Sweden, acquiring a five-year license at the time. Betway's parent firm is one of the world's leading online gaming providers and is stable financially.Sweden's gambling regulator has a reputation for being extremely stringent. It has issued a substantial number of penalties to licensees for a variety of different sorts of infringements. Last year, for instance, the ComeOn Group was fined $21 million.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Swedish authorities enforced stringent restrictions on online casino players. The government considered restoring these limits recently but decided against it this week.
