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As Sweden continues to sweep up its gambling sector, the country’s gaming regulator has announced its latest enforcement action against WinBet-owned Superb.bet for operating without a license. An investigation by Spelinspektionen revealed that WinBet only holds a license in Greece, making its operations in Sweden unlawful.
Superb.bet was also found to have targeted local players by offering its website in Swedish and accepting payment methods popular in the country, both of which are illegal under Swedish law. It was also discovered that Superb. bet automatically switched to Swedish when accessed from a Swedish address, and players were allowed to register without any restrictions, despite the lack of a valid license.
Spelinspektionen provided WinBet the opportunity to respond to these findings, but the operator chose not to comment. Consequently, the regulator moved swiftly to impose an immediate ban on WinBet, a proof of its commitment to maintaining a regulated gaming environment.
WinBet Continues to Face Legal Scrutiny
This is not the first time WinBet NV has been in trouble with a European gaming regulator. Last year, the company came under fire from the Dutch Gaming Authority for operating online games of chance without the necessary licenses, breaking Dutch gambling laws.
The KSA’s investigation revealed that WinBet was running four websites, galaxyspins.com, winnercasino1.bet, superb1.bet, and doctorspins.com, all of which lack the proper approvals required to operate legally in the Netherlands.
As a result of these violations, the KSA imposed a penalty of €280,000 per week on WinBet, which could add up to a hefty €840,000 if the unlawful activities continued. Like in Sweden, the KSA investigation showed that these sites allowed Dutch users to create accounts, deposit funds, and engage in unlicensed gambling, all without implementing any required measures to block access for players from the Netherlands.
Spelinspektionen’s enforcement action comes amid a wave of measures introduced to tidy up the country’s gambling industry and promote responsible gambling. Last month, lawmakers introduced a new legislation that would see a comprehensive ban on the use of credit for gambling. If it passes, the new law would make it illegal for gambling operators to accept bets financed with borrowed funds.
June also saw the Swedish regulator issue fines to Betsson, Snabbare, and PokerStars for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. The three operators’ fines combined for a total of SEK19m (€1.7m).
Source: iGB
