Kindred subsidiary handed SEK10m fine in Sweden

<p>The Kindred subsidiary Spooniker holds commercial online gaming and betting licences in Sweden to operate seven websites, including unibet.se, bingo.se, ottocasino.se and mariabingo.se.</p>

<p>Spelinspektionen found, in a <a href=”https://www.spelinspektionen.se/press/nyhetsarkiv/spooniker-ltd-far-varning-och-sanktionsavgift-for-brister-i-arbetet-mot-penningtvatt-finansiering-av-terrorism/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>recent review</a> of Spooniker&#8217;s procedure, that it had not “achieved sufficient customer due diligence†to be able to assess the risk of money laundering. As such, the operator has been fined SEK10 million ($1 million) and issued with a warning.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-review-of-past-spooniker-infraction”>Review of past Spooniker infraction</h2>

<p>Spelinspektionen had originally found on 17 November 2022 that Spooniker had “shortcomings†within its money laundering and terrorist financing mitigation processes. It was fined SEK10.9 million ($1.1 million) at the time.</p>

<p>In a follow-up review, Spelinspektionen requested information on five customers that had registered between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024. It also asked to see Spooniker&#8217;s risk assessment and internal procedures and guidelines for monitoring customers. </p>

<p>When reviewing the customers&#8217; data, Spelinspektionen noted that several were flagged by the company&#8217;s monitoring system “on several occasionsâ€. Issues included high deposits and deviating gaming patterns.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-measures-taken-too-late”>Measures taken too late</h2>

<p>The regulator said, apart from information on taxable income being gathered on one occasion, Spooniker took no additional measures. </p>

<p>Spelinspektionen said this was “despite the fact†players had made deposits that were equal to, or above, their entire taxable annual income, in some instances.</p>

<p>Sweden’s regulator said Spooniker should have taken more extensive customer due diligence measures, given it had affordability details on these players. </p>

<p>The watchdog also reported that Spooniker&#8217;s documentation on the transaction chain was lacking and parts were missing. This related to money paid out from another gambling company, to a customer&#8217;s bank account, and then it being deposited into their Spooniker account.</p>

<p>“By not obtaining adequate information to verify the origin of the funds, the company has lacked the ability to understand and assess whether the customers&#8217; activities and transactions were legitimate, or posed a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing,†Spelinspektionen said.</p>

<p>Spooniker has also been accused of implementing customer due diligence measures too late after its initial review. </p>

<p>One customer included in the more recent review had deposited a total of SEK460,000. The regulator said that as this was a new customer stricter measures should have been taken, as well as follow-up checks on that player.</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-spooniker-improvements”>Spooniker improvements</h2>

<p>The regulator did state that Spooniker had improved its systems and a continuous monitoring system had been installed, as well as monthly loss limits.</p>

<p>Spooniker told Spelinspektionen there has been no additional indications of money laundering from the players that were under review. </p>

<p>The Swedish gambling watchdog noted on 1 June 2024 the calculation basis for penalty fees was changed. However, since the alleged Spooniker customer due diligence failures occurred before that, the regulator can only impose a sanction fee of €1 million. </p>

<p>Last year, Kindred&#8217;s Spooniker was hit with a SEK30 million fine from the Swedish regulator for <a href=”https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/mr-green-spooniker-comeon-swedish-penalties/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>offering unauthorised bonuses and lotteries</a> in March 2020.</p>