Sweden’s legal compliance under review after court defeat challenges license requirements

Spelinspektionen has announced the cancellation of its legal position outlined in October 2020, following the December judgment from the Linköping administrative court. The court overruled the regulator’s rejection of Avento’s licence renewal, enabling the owner of Frank Casino and SlotsV to obtain a three-year licence in December 2019. The rejection was based on Avento’s negative equity in the first two years of the licence period. However, the court ruled that negative equity does not necessarily indicate a failure to meet licence requirements. In spite of this, Spelinspektionen maintains its belief that negative equity usually implies a failure to meet suitability requirements. Even for applicants belonging to a group, negative equity works against them, unless the group’s combined capital strength can be considered and demonstrated, for example, through a capital guarantee. The Swedish Gaming Authority emphasizes that a capital guarantee from an individual cannot be relied upon due to difficulties in assessing their financial position. The extent to which the group’s capital strength is taken into account and the required capital strength for fulfilling licence conditions will be determined on a case-by-case basis.