The Swedish Gambling Authority imposed a SEK100,000 fine ($11,018) to the global online gambling operator Betway after the company violated the Authority’s rules on gambling bonuses.
As revealed by Spelinkspektionen, the gambling operator provided its customers with the chance to repeatedly take advantage of the special 200% match bonus marketing promotion that was officially rolled out in June 2021. The offer was actually intended to be available for certain customers only, but it was made available to all players registered in Betway’s database by mistake.
According to records, a total of 52 customers managed to take advantage of 53 bonuses under the terms of the promotion before the online gambling company made things right and corrected its mistake.
The online gambling and sports betting operator, which is currently owned by Super Group, explained that no customers were negatively affected by the mistake. Furthermore, Betway revealed that its representatives proactively contacted every person who received the special 200% match bonus offer via email. The company also shared that, as a result of the violation, its employees are no longer given the right to make marketing campaigns available from the company’s back-office management system. Further training to all employees engaged in the process of promoting the company’s services was also provided.
Betway Took Corrective Action Immediately to Mitigate Potential Gambling Harm
Spelinspektionen maintained that an illegal bonus was offered by Betway. Still, the Swedish Gambling Authority acknowledged that the online gambling operator had taken some steps in order to make things right and tackle the potential harm that could have been inflicted on customers.
According to a Spelinkspektionen release, the country’s gambling regulatory body considered that reliable information that the aforementioned marketing campaign had been a mistake was provided by Betway. Also, the gambling watchdog highlighted the fact that the company had tried to tackle the damage that had occurred as a result of a mistake and had allowed a number of customers to take advantage of a special bonus that had not been intended for all of them.
The Swedish Gambling Authority found that the violation had been limited in time and only a small number of customers took advantage of the advertised match bonus. Also, Spelinkspektionen appreciated the fact that, upon “immediate direction” of the violation, Betway had taken corrective action, as well as action to make sure that such breaches would not be repeated in the future.
Although the issue affected the online gambling company’s players directly, the fact that Betway managed to act quickly and make things right made the Swedish Gambling Authority judge that the case of the gambling promotion rules violation is not that serious. As mentioned above, the country’s gambling regulator imposed a penalty fee on the company but did not take more serious measures, because it believed that one remark may be considered an adequate response to the situation, so Betway managed to avoid the maximum possible penalty that combines a fixed SEK5,000 fine and 10% charge on the registered turnover of the online gambling license holder.
