The Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping (Sweden) has reduced the sanction fee that Kindred Group received in 2020 for bonus rules violations in 2019.
The sanction fee of SEK 100 million ($9.5 million), imposed by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) on Kindred’s wholly-owned subsidiary Spooniker, was initially reduced to SEK 50 million ($4.7 million). The Administrative Court of Appeal has now determined to reduce it further to SEK 30 million ($2.8 million).
In its decision, Spelinspektionen (SGA) held that some of Spooniker’s offers, competitions and promotions were to be considered as financial incentives and therefore as bonuses.
In Sweden, licensees are restricted to offering sign-up bonuses only, with all other promotional offers prohibited. However, checks on Kindred-owned websites, including Unibet, Maria Casino, Storspelare, Bingo, and iGame in March 2019 uncovered various unauthorised bonuses. These included an online bingo loyalty scheme. Kindred argued these were in-game mechanics, not bonuses.
Further checks in May and June 2019 revealed additional offers such as free spins, free online bingo, and free bets. Additionally, Kindred was found to be offering poker rewards, including prize draws, which Spelinspektionen classified as a lottery game, for which Kindred was not licensed.
As a result, Spelinspektionen issued a SEK 100 million penalty fee and an official warning to Kindred. Kindred immediately changed its offerings following guidance from the SGA and challenged the charges.
Kindred appealed the decision to the Administrative Court to obtain judicial guidance on how to interpret the new legislation, and the fine was subsequently reduced.
In July 2021, Linköping’s court reduced the fine to SEK50 million, agreeing with Spelinspektionen on the serious bonus violations but deemed a “medium-high penalty fee” more appropriate. Fines in Sweden are based on an operator’s turnover, and the seriousness of the offenses led Spelinspektionen to initially issue a “high penalty fee” to Kindred.
Now, the court has ruled that the fee should be reduced further to SEK30 million. Meanwhile, Kindred argues that the entire fine should be eliminated.
“Kindred is of the opinion that since the rules were vague, opening for different interpretations, the sanction fee should be reduced in its total,” the company said in a statement.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/noticias/2024/05/28/72374-kindred-39s-penalty-for-bonus-violations-further-reduced-to-28-million-by-swedish-court
