Swedish Regulator Fines L&L Europe Over Self-Exclusion Failures
The Swedish Gambling Authority Spelinspektionen has fined casino operator L&L Europe over self-exclusion failures.
According to reports, the operator was fined SEK 600,000 ($59,600/£48,214) for failing to prohibit self-excluded gamblers from playing on its websites. Users who self-excluded via the country’s Spelpaus.se scheme, which operators in Sweden are required to sign-up with as a condition of their license, were still able to play at the operator’s casino sites.
Several of those self-excluded players escalated the issue to the Swedish Gambling Authority, prompting an investigation. L&L Europe attributed the issue to technical problems which arose when the operator changed its bank ID verification supplier, leading to delays in the processing of players registered with the operator before January 1st, 2019.
The technical problem reportedly allowed self-excluded players to bet on L&L Europe websites between April 28th, 2019, and May 6th, 2019. The Swedish Gambling Authority’s investigation states that the issue violated Chapter 12, Section 4 of the Gaming Act, resulting in the regulator to fine and issue a warning to the operator.
L&L Europe, which owns several popular sites such as All British Casino and Hyper Casino, has since corrected the issue and refunded all deposits made by the affected players. The operator is known for its fantastic selection of games, great customer support, and exciting promotions.
What They Say
In a statement, the Swedish Gambling Authority said: “The fact that L&L has not completed what is required to check if customers are registered in Spelpaus.se before they are allowed to play, speaks for itself that the violation is to be considered serious. In addition, it has been found that a player despite being registered in Spelpaus.se, which further indicates that the violation is serious. Serious violations should result in the license being revoked, unless a warning is deemed sufficient.”
“An important part of the new gaming regulation is a strong consumer protection and that the negative effects of gaming should be limited. The fact that licensed gaming companies have a working connection to Spelpaus.se is of the utmost importance to counteract social and economic harm and problem gambling.”
They ended: “The Spelinspektionen will, therefore, continue to focus on supervision of this area. Those who join Spelpaus.se disconnect from all licensed games in Sweden that require registration. In addition, the gaming companies may not send direct mail to those who have turned off.”