The Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) has stated that gambling companies in Sweden are not permitted to offer betting on events where most of the individuals are under 18 years of age.
The Swedish Gaming Inspectorate Spelinspektionen has confirmed Hillside was offering betting on a training match where the vast majority of participants were under 18. It took place on 28 March last year and was between Swedish teams Kronängs IF and Mariedals IK.
The line-ups were analysed and showed that 71% of players were under the age of 18; which equalled 17 of Kronäng’s squad and seven of the Mariedals team.
The SGA has clarified that there has been no question of a serious violation and that the violation was only intended for one match. Therefore, it has deemed appropriate the penalty fee of SEK 1m to Hillside.
Hillside responded to the regulator and said it lacked further information about the matter. The company has stated that such data is not generally available, and it was not offering bets in bad faith.
Bet365 appealed the decision but was unsuccessful, and the penalty was handed out for breaching Chapter 8 rules.
Bet365 stated in May 2019 it was not taking bets on Swedish matches that were labelled as U20, U21 and U23 to meet the Chapter 8 regulation.
It will continue working with the Svenska Football Association to recommend appropriate Swedish football markets.
Gambling Insider has contacted Bet365 for comment.
