Sweden's Administrative Court of Appeal has upheld SEK44 million in penalties against bet365's two Hillside companies. The good news for the operator: its Swedish licences remain active, thanks to corrective action taken during the regulator's investigation.

The case hinged on player protection failures spanning January 2019 to April 2022. Specifically, a deposit-limit system that let customers select "no limit" instead of setting an actual numerical cap. Sweden's gambling regulator, Spelinspektionen, ruled this breached licensing requirements. Bet365 argued there was an invisible technical ceiling of SEK500 million operating behind the scenes. The court wasn't buying it.

How the Penalties Were Calculated

Hillside (Sports) ENC copped SEK40 million. Hillside (Gaming) ENC got hit with SEK4 million. Now, these figures look much better when you compare them to Spelinspektionen's original 2023 decision, which demanded SEK65 million and SEK14 million respectively. The drop happened because Sweden's Supreme Administrative Court ruled that penalty calculations should be based on net turnover rather than gross turnover. That move reduced the statutory maximum available to regulators.

The appeal court agreed with the recalculated approach and kept the reduced penalties in place. Bet365's argument that an unseen deposit ceiling made their system compliant with Swedish rules? Dismissed.

The Broader Enforcement Picture

Spelinspektionen branded the breaches as serious and systematic. Licence revocation was genuinely on the table during the investigation. But here's the thing: because the companies actually implemented corrective measures during the examination process, the regulator chose warnings and financial penalties over licence suspension.

You're seeing this pattern across Europe right now. Regulators aren't just checking that player protections exist on paper. They're scrutinising whether operators use them effectively when customer behaviour sends up red flags. It's the difference between having a system and actually running it.

What Happens Next

Going forward, Hillside needs to review customers who lose more than SEK10,000 monthly. Vulnerable players and customers aged 18 to 24 get extra scrutiny. Plus, the companies must keep a closer eye on players returning after self-excluding.

For bet365, this is a win with strings attached. Licences stay. The penalties dropped substantially from the initial ask. Yet the warnings sit on record, ongoing monitoring requirements remain in place, and that SEK44 million is a real cost of operating in such a tightly regulated market. What the ruling makes crystal clear: in Sweden, deposit limits have to mean something to the player. Not just sit there on a backend spreadsheet.