Spelinspektionen said the company did not take sufficiently effective action to address excessive gambling and “did not act promptly enough.”
The Swedish gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, has fined Videoslots SEK 12 million (£937,016) for failing to adequately support customers in managing their gambling behaviour when there were clear reasons to intervene.
Spelinspektionen said the company did not take sufficiently effective action to address excessive gambling and “did not act promptly enough.”
The fine, accompanied by a formal warning, follows an investigation into Videoslots’ customer activity carried out by the regulator in spring last year. The inquiry found that Videoslots had breached its duty of care obligations.
Twelve customers’ gambling behaviour was examined, with Spelinspektionen concluding that their playing patterns, deposit behaviour, and “significant losses” were among “multiple indicators” of excessive gambling.
Several of the twelve customers reportedly returned to the Videoslots platform to play “multiple times” during the day or “continuously for many hours.”
The regulator highlighted that all of the customers involved had “very high deposit limits.” Three players had limits set at SEK 1 million (£78,164), one had a limit of SEK 4.5 million (£351,912), and another customer had a staggering limit of SEK 300 million (£23.5 million).
Spelinspektionen added that all customers deposited “large amounts” during the review period, including one individual who deposited SEK 1.8 million (£140,785) and another who deposited SEK 1.3 million (£101,721).
The watchdog further noted:
“Several customers exhibited a deposit pattern where withdrawn amounts were deposited again shortly after being withdrawn.
“For several customers, there were also a large number of deposits in a short period. Some customers regularly made multiple deposits per gambling day… and one customer had days with up to 28 deposits.”
Spelinspektionen concluded:
“In light of the above, the authority assesses that all the customers engaged in excessive gambling during the review period.
“The company has argued that individual indicators, when viewed separately, may not necessarily indicate excessive gambling. However, according to Spelinspektionen, all the above indicators are signs of excessive gambling, and the overall assessment forms the basis for this conclusion.”