Novatech is facing mounting regulatory challenges across Europe after Sweden’s gambling regulator ordered the operator to cease all activity targeting Swedish players without a licence. The enforcement action follows just days after the Netherlands imposed a record €24.9 million penalty on the company for similar violations.

Spelinspektionen, Sweden’s gambling authority, concluded its investigation between 23 and 25 February after examining multiple domains linked to Novatech, including qbet.com, mangacasino.com, slotexpress.com, 55bet.com, and 30bet.com. The regulator determined that all five platforms were structured to accommodate Swedish customers despite the operator lacking the required national licence.

The evidence gathered during the inspection painted a clear picture of deliberate market targeting. Users connecting from Swedish IP addresses were automatically assigned Sweden’s country code during registration, a design choice regulators say indicates the platforms were built to accept Swedish players rather than exclude them.

Investigators also documented Swedish-language websites and video creators actively promoting the brands, suggesting a coordinated marketing effort directed at the local audience.

Spelinspektionen conducted a covert test registration on one of the platforms and confirmed that Swedish users could freely create accounts without encountering geographical restrictions or verification barriers. While the test transaction wasn’t completed, the ease of access was sufficient to support the regulator’s enforcement case.

Consumer Protection at the Core

Sweden’s regulatory framework, established when the market opened to licensed private operators in 2019, requires all companies serving Swedish residents to hold a local licence. That licence comes with strict obligations around age verification, responsible gambling tools, and consumer safeguards.

Operating without one means players are left exposed to platforms that fall outside Sweden’s consumer protection regime, a concern that underpins the regulator’s enforcement stance.

Licensed operators have largely captured the Swedish sports betting market, but online casino remains a contested space where unlicensed platforms continue to attract real player activity. Spelinspektionen has made closing that gap a priority, and the Novatech ban is the latest step in an ongoing enforcement campaign against offshore operators attempting to circumvent national licensing requirements.

Dutch Record Fine Sets the Tone

The Swedish action arrives in the immediate wake of a far more substantial penalty from the Netherlands. Earlier this week, the Kansspelautoriteit issued a €24.9 million fine against Novatech after investigators successfully registered accounts, deposited funds, and placed wagers across multiple domains without restriction.

The Dutch regulator also flagged inadequate age verification processes and noted that cryptocurrency payment options were available, further complicating enforcement efforts.

The fine represents the legal maximum under Dutch law, capped at 10% of a company’s global turnover. Without that limitation, regulators indicated the penalty could have exceeded €100 million. That’s a figure that underscores the scale of the alleged violations and the regulator’s willingness to impose serious financial consequences.

Coordinated Pressure Across Europe

The back-to-back enforcement actions from two major European markets signal a broader trend. Regulators across the continent are increasingly coordinating efforts to tackle offshore operators that market to local players while avoiding national licensing systems.

The strategy reflects growing frustration with platforms that undercut licensed competitors and operate outside consumer protection frameworks designed to safeguard players.

For Novatech, the dual actions suggest the company is now firmly on the radar of European enforcement authorities. As regulators continue to share intelligence and coordinate investigations, the operator may face additional scrutiny in other jurisdictions where it has maintained a presence without local approval.

The broader question for the industry is whether these enforcement actions will prove sufficient to deter unlicensed activity or whether offshore operators will simply adapt their strategies to avoid detection.

What is clear is that European regulators are no longer treating unlicensed gambling as a compliance footnote. The penalties are real, the enforcement is coordinated, and the pressure is mounting.