Swedish Court Upholds Heavy AML Fines Against Betsson, Snabbare, and Spooniker for Customer Due Diligence Failures

13 July 2026 – The Swedish administrative court has upheld anti-money laundering (AML) fines against three major gambling operators: Betsson, Snabbare (operated by ComeOn Group), and Spooniker (operated by Kindred). The court ruled that Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling regulator, was correct in imposing penalties due to deficiencies in customer due diligence (CDD) and source-of-funds verification.

The fines, totaling SEK 22 million (approximately €1.99 million), were confirmed after the operators challenged the regulator’s decisions. Betsson was fined SEK 6.5 million, Snabbare SEK 5.5 million, and Spooniker the highest penalty of SEK 10 million.

The court rejected arguments from Betsson that the regulator’s approach was too narrow and that the penalties were excessive. Betsson had claimed its violations were not systematic or significant, but the court found that the company failed to meet Sweden’s AML standards for monitoring and verifying customer activity.

The investigation focused on customers aged 18 to 29, specifically the 50 individuals with the highest cumulative deposits in 2023. The regulator found that operators had failed to properly establish the source of funds when deposits appeared inconsistent with declared taxable income. For example, one Betsson customer made 163 deposits totaling SEK 491,950 between September and December 2023, despite an annual net income of just SEK 310,000. The regulator argued that Betsson did not sufficiently investigate the origin of these funds, despite the customer’s risk classification remaining low to medium.

Betsson attempted to justify the deposits as previous gambling winnings, but Spelinspektionen dismissed this explanation, emphasizing that the source of funds had not been properly verified. The court’s decision reinforces the importance of stringent AML compliance, particularly in verifying large deposits and ensuring they align with a customer’s declared income.

The ruling sends a clear message to the iGaming industry: Swedish regulators are intensifying scrutiny over how operators handle customer deposits, income mismatches, and risk classifications. Failure to comply with AML standards can result in substantial financial penalties, as demonstrated by this case.