SEK44 million in penalties, but no loss of Swedish licences: that is the outcome for bet365 after an appeal court upheld warnings against the operator’s two Hillside companies. Hillside (Sports) ENC faces a SEK40 million fee and Hillside (Gaming) ENC SEK4 million. CasinoBeats and iGamingToday report that the licences remain in place following corrective steps during the regulator’s examination.
For esports bettors, the distinction matters: a major player-protection case has resulted in substantial financial sanctions and continuing oversight, rather than bet365 being forced out of the Swedish market. It is a different licensing story from the company’s licence renewal in the Netherlands, with Sweden’s decision centred on past compliance failures.
The dispute covered deposit settings and customer care
The case examined conduct from January 1, 2019, to April 19, 2022. During that period, customers could choose a deposit setting with no numerical limit instead of selecting a specific cap. bet365 argued that an invisible technical ceiling of SEK500 million applied, but Sweden’s gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, found that a limit customers could neither see nor choose did not meet the requirement for a player-selected cap.
Regulators also assessed how promptly the companies responded when customer activity suggested harmful gambling. The findings therefore covered more than a settings-menu problem: the case also concerned whether the companies’ customer-care response was adequate when risk indicators appeared. The distinction between an automated warning and a more meaningful response is central to other player-protection penalty cases.
Appeals leave reduced fees and safeguards in place
The current total is lower than the fees Spelinspektionen originally imposed in 2023: SEK65 million against Hillside (Sports) ENC and SEK14 million against Hillside (Gaming) ENC. A lower court reduced the amounts in June 2024 to SEK40 million and SEK4 million. The Administrative Court of Appeal has now left those reduced penalties and the warnings standing; the companies’ appeals did not overturn the findings on deposit limits or customer care.
The companies must also continue with additional player-protection measures. These include reviewing customers who lose more than SEK10,000 in a month, taking further steps to protect vulnerable players and young adults aged 18 to 24, and paying closer attention to people who return to gambling after self-excluding. Similar accountability issues arise when operators fail to respect self-exclusion protections.
Corrective action avoided licence loss, not scrutiny
Spelinspektionen described the breaches as serious and systematic, making a review of the licences, potentially including revocation, a possible consequence. The companies took corrective steps during the investigation, and the resulting action stopped short of removing their permission to operate. That does not erase the findings: the warnings, SEK44 million bill and monitoring requirements remain.
The practical test for the operator now extends beyond paying the penalties. Its Swedish businesses must maintain the required reviews and protections, including closer attention to customers who resume gambling after self-exclusion.
