The Swedish Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal filed by lottery operator Lottoland against a penalty levied by the regulatory body Spelinspektionen in 2019.
Lottoland was initially penalized 700,000 Swedish kronor (£52,423 / €65,492 / $73,304) and given a formal warning by Spelinspektionen for infringing Swedish regulations on lottery wagering over two years ago.
The regulatory body maintained that ULS, the entity behind Lottoland, provided players with the opportunity to place bets on the outcomes of lotteries conducted by the state-owned lottery company Svenska Spel without a license to operate.
Svenska Spel holds exclusive rights to sell lottery games in Sweden, including the EuroMillions lottery, whose results ULS offered on its Lottoland.se website.
Following the initial imposition of the penalty in 2019, Lottoland initially appealed the matter to the Swedish Administrative Court of Linköping, which also rejected the appeal.
The Administrative Court determined that ULS not only offered wagers on lottery draws without Svenska Spel’s authorization, but the company also presented these wagers in a manner that implied it was organizing the draws itself.
After the initial appeal was unsuccessful, the operator escalated the matter to the Court of Appeals.
Nevertheless, the ruling also confirmed the Swedish Gambling Authority’s original decision.
The Court of Appeal further decided that ULS provided extra lottery games in the form of digital scratch cards without the required permit.
The Swedish Gambling Authority recently instructed Cashalot operator Indigo Soft to withdraw from the Swedish market after concluding that the company aimed at Swedish players without a license.
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