The Swedish Court of Appeal has rejected a claim from United Lottery Solutions (ULS) against a fine imposed by Spelinspektionen, the country’s gaming inspectorate.
Back in 2019, Spelinspektionen issued a fine of SEK 700,000 to United Lottery Solutions alongside an official warning for a breach of laws pertaining to betting on lottery games.
It claimed that the actions taken by the firm, a subsidiary of Lottoland, were not covered by its gaming license.
The inspectorate ruled in 2019 that ULS had offered players the opportunity to bet on the outcome of the lottery draws conducted by Svenska Spel, the state-owned organisation with exclusive rights to the Swedish lottery market.
Upon receiving the fine and warning over two years ago, ULS took the decision to the Administrative Court in Linköping in 2020.
However, the appeal was thrown out by the court as it had evidence that ULS had “offered betting on the outcome of a lottery without the consent of the licensee who provides the lottery in Sweden and offered games in such a way that it appeared that the company organised a lottery instead of offering betting on it.”
Dissatisfied with the outcome in Linköping, ULS took its case to the Court of Appeal, second in power only to the Supreme Court.
Once again, ULS’ case was rejected, with the Court of Appeal reiterating that ULS offered betting on the outcome of a lottery without consent, in breach of the terms of its license.
Furthermore, the court also concluded that ULS ‘offered games on lottery digital scratch cards for which it does not have a license and that the Swedish Gaming Inspectorate had reason to decide on a warning and a penalty fee.’