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Videoslots will appeal the Swedish Gambling Authority's (SGA) decision to issue it with a warning and a SEK11m (€1.1m) fine, arguing it raises questions about existing legal expectations on licensees regarding duty of care requirements.
The Malta-based online casino company was penalised for duty of care shortcomings regarding not taking sufficient measures to reduce excessive gambling.
Videoslots also failed to help its customers reduce their gambling when there was a reason to do so, did not follow up on the effect of the measures it had taken and has not acted sufficiently promptly, according to the SGA’s sanction decision published on Tuesday (April 22).
The penalty size for the operator's violation was determined by the duty of care breaches being deemed “serious” by the SGA, which also highlighted that the violation has been “ongoing for a long time”.
Videoslots, however, said it will appeal the decision and “seek greater legal clarity concerning the right regulatory balance between effective consumer protection and proportionate, evidence-based operational requirements”.
In a statement shared with Vixio GamblingCompliance, the company said the decision “raises important questions about the interpretation and proportionality of current regulatory expectations”.
The operator added that it made “significant” investments in systems designed to identify at-risk individuals and intervene appropriately, adding “all players reviewed by the SGA reduced their gambling activity following personalized, data-driven interventions delivered via automated systems and trained staff”.
Videoslots believes the SGA’s decision establishes expectations that are not “clearly codified in current regulations and go beyond the existing legal framework”.
The decision also “appears to assume that monthly deposits above 10000 SEK are inherently problematic irrespective of a player’s income, loss, or actual time spent playing, and that operators must enforce almost immediate behavioural changes”, according to Videoslots.
The SGA supervision of the operator began in Spring 2024 to check that the company was complying with its duty of care requirements regarding procedures for contacting players where problem gambling has been identified or suspected.
Duty Of Care Enforcement Action
Since the start of 2025, there have been several notable enforcement actions against licensees in Sweden and the Netherlands over duty of care shortcomings.
In March, the SGA fined two other Malta-based operators a total of SEK36m (€3.31m) for duty of care shortcomings.
Glitnor Services Limited, operator of the luckycasino.com website, was issued a warning and a penalty fee of SEK28m for not taking sufficient measures to combat excessive gambling.
The operator of the Leovegas.com website, Roar Vegas Ltd, was also issued a fine of SEK8m for not sufficiently helping customers to reduce their gambling when there was reason to do so.
Earlier this month in the Netherlands, an unnamed operator was fined €734,000 for failing to protect young adults against excessive gambling and gambling addiction.
Michel Groothuizen, chairman of the KSA board, said the board has “intensified” its supervision of the online duty of care and will take “tough action against violations”.
On February 19, the KSA also addressed TonyBet for failing to provide 24/7 Dutch-language telephone customer support, a requirement for all licensed operators. Under Dutch regulations, gambling providers must ensure that players can always communicate in Dutch, particularly concerning duty of care obligations.
Finnish Requirements Incoming
Finland’s new gambling law includes a section on duty of care, which states all licensees must protect players from excessive gambling and help them reduce their gambling when necessary.
The duty of care includes combating excessive gambling through continuous monitoring and evaluation of gambling behaviour.
What Should Operators Be Aware Of?
Likely, we will only see more jurisdictions follow suit and introduce duty of care requirements in the future.
Licensees must be prepared to quickly challenge and address any legal uncertainty or a lack of clarity around these rules.
Decisions published by local gambling regulators can also offer valuable insights into how operators can avoid facing enforcement action for violating the duty of care requirements.
