Bug in the System Causes a Hefty Fine for Swedish Operator
The Swedish regulator Spelinspektionen has made AB Trav och Galopp pay dearly due to a technical problem.
Responsible gambling is an issue that no gaming operator should take lightly. The Swedish horseracing brand AB Trav och Galopp (also known as ATG) was recently reminded of this when it was issued a hefty 2 million SEK fine, which is around 186 000 euros.
The events leading to said fine took place between the 13th and 28th of January. During this time, ATG updated its login system, which caused an unforeseen issue with the brand’s mandatory self-exclusion functionality. What this meant was that users were unable to self-exclude when logged in with a mobile bank ID, also known as pay n play.
The Swedish regulatory system (Spelinspektionen) requires online gambling establishments to provide players with the means to self-exclude, which is why the mistake proved costly to ATG.
To make matters worse, the technical issue was left unnoticed for the duration of 14 days, which, according to Spelinspektionen was inexcusable. Here is what the Swedish regulatory body said in its statement:
”Spelinspektionen does not consider it excusable that a technical error causes a deficiency of this nature without ATG immediately discovering the error.”
SGA
According to Spelinspektionen’s estimates, the technical issue affected around 100 players. It is also probable that ATG would have landed in even hotter water had it not corrected the error immediately after discovering it. What is more, ATG did still allow players to exclude via alternate means by contacting customer support or using the Swedish Spelpaus service.
ATG has since said to have corrected the glitch in the system as well as made sure that such errors will not take place anymore in the future.
My take
One can only speculate whether the issue was purposeful or not. However, given the fact that Sweden is known for its robust regulatory framework for online gambling, it stands to reason that this was indeed simply an unfortunate glitch in the system. Besides, if an operator would want to cheat players out of their money, there would likely be better ways to do it than by sabotaging its own responsible gambling tools. Having said that, players opting for self-exclusion should obviously be protected from problem gambling, which is why it is understandable that Spelinspektionen had to act swiftly and give out a sort of storm warning.
Some readers may know that not all online casinos in the world are even required to have tools to combat problem gambling. For instance, casinos licensed by Curacao eGaming rarely have such systems in place, and even if they do, the systems are usually not all that strong or helpful.
Being an enthusiastic fan of online casinos myself, I am glad that regulatory bodies such as the Swedish Spelinspektionen are there trying to keep this industry as clean as possible, making it a better place for all gamblers around the world.
After all, we already have the odds stacked against us—we do not need any more obstacles on our way!
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