In July 2023, Spelinspektionen ordered Zimpler to stop working with unlicensed operators in Sweden. This included providing services such as e-identification service BankID for transactions with offshore sites.
At the time, Spelinspektionen warned Sweden-based Zimpler that it could face a fine of up to SEK25.0 million (£1.8 million/€2.2 million/$2.3 million) if it failed to comply.
Zimpler hit back and appealed the order a few weeks later. The administrative court ruled the regulator had a lack of basis for the injunction, subsequently cancelling the order.
Spelinspektionen then responded with an appeal of its own, filing this with the Linköping administrative court last June. It argued that by offering its payment service to unlicensed operators, Zimpler was supporting and promoting illegal gambling.
However, at a hearing this week, the Court of Appeal sided with Zimpler and chose to dismiss the appeal. As such, the initial annulment of the injunction continues to stand.
“Spelinspektionen has not shown there was illegal gambling, nor that Zimpler has promoted such. The appeal should therefore be rejected,” the court said.
Court criticises Swedish Gambling Act
Detailing its decision, the Court of Appeal seemingly picked holes in current regulation in Sweden. It agreed that Zimpler had worked with certain unlicensed operators but a lack of “concreteness” in regulation meant it was not at fault.
This included uncertainty in the rules around what it means for an operator to be targeting Swedish players. For now it is not illegal for offshore operators to provide services in English as it is not considered to be targeting locals.
“The Court finds all provision of games by gambling companies that lack a Swedish licence is not prohibited under the Gambling Act,” the court added. “This applies, for example, to such online games that are not aimed at the Swedish market.
“The Act and its preparatory work lack further concreteness regarding what is required for a gambling company to be considered to be targeting Sweden. This alone means the Court finds there were no conditions for Spelinspektionen to formulate the injunction against Zimpler.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/court-dismisses-appeal-zimpler-injunction-annulment/
