NGG Nordic and SkillOnNet have both had their appeals to the Swedish Administrative Court dismissed due to “financial temptations.” 

More details on the Swedish Court decision

Following the rejections, the operators’ penalties for violating the county’s bonus restriction will be reinstated. The Spelinspektionen, however, discovered that the Administrative Court had made some small revisions to the original decisions.

Notably, Spelinspektionen assessed NGG Nordic with a financial penalty of SEK 14 million following an “overall assessment of all relevant circumstances,” with the company offering “weekly surprises, raffle cash prizes, travel and free spins, bonuses, rewards, and free games for loyal players” as part of its bonus offerings. It was determined that the firm’s offers qualified as ‘financial incentives’ under the definition of bonuses contained in Sweden’s gaming law, and which were made available through NGG Nordic for more than four months after the rules were enacted.

The regulator concluded that the company breached the Gaming Act, stating that “the campaigns supplied by NGG Nordic were both unlawful bonus offers and lotteries, and these lotteries are not protected by the company’s commercial online gaming license. In response to the judgment, NGG Nordic stated that it would no longer offer a welcome bonus to consumers who placed their first bet through the company’s website.

Along with the above, SkillOnNet was fined SEK 14 million by Spelinspektionen for violating the same Gaming Act provisions as NGG Nordic. SkillonNet offered daily bonuses, monthly incentives, free spins, cashback, and VIP packages, all of which were withdrawn from the company’s website as a result of the Inspectorate’s inquiry in April 2019.

Quotes from the Press Release

“It appears from the research in this instance that SkillOnNet had recurring offers on their websites for, among other things, daily bonuses, monthly prizes, slots tournaments, free spins, cashback, and VIP packages little over four months after the gaming law took effect,” the company stated.

“According to Spelinspektionen, these offers represent discounts and financial incentives and thus constitute bonuses. To be eligible for the company’s offers, the player had to be a customer of the company, have registered a gaming account with the company, and have previously played or played on any of the company’s games.”

As with NGG Nordic, SkillOnNet’s appeal to the Administrative Court and Appeals Court were both denied – although, unlike NGG, the company’s punishment was not changed – with the former institution concluding that the company’s activities violated the bonus prohibition.