Millions in fines for Videoslots and Betsson

In recent weeks, two major gambling brands have been fined seven figures each. In total, the two gambling companies will have to pay almost five million euros. But which gambling companies are involved, and what wrongdoing have they been accused of?

For some time now, European gambling regulators have been taking increasingly tough action against online gambling operators that do not comply with the law. As recently as April this year, we reported that William Hill had been hit with a record fine of almost €22 million by the UK Gambling Commission. Now, in the space of a few weeks, two more million euro fines have been imposed on online casinos.

Betsson subsidiary must pay over two million euros in fines

In mid-May, the Finnish authorities imposed a fine of 2.4 million euros on BML Group Ltd. This is a subsidiary of Swedish gambling giant Betsson. The BML Group is accused of placing gambling advertisements for illegal online gambling operators in Finland over a long period of time. However, under Finnish law, gambling advertising is reserved exclusively for the state-owned Veikkaus.

The Betsson subsidiary had previously announced that the company had a European gambling licence from Malta and that it was therefore not illegal gambling. The Finnish authorities contradicted this statement and pointed out that a Finnish gambling licence is required.

In addition, BML Group Ltd. has been blacklisted by the Finnish National Police. As a result, payment service providers in Finland are no longer allowed to process transactions to and from BML Group Ltd. with immediate effect. Furthermore, BML Group Ltd. has been ordered to block all online casinos for Finnish players. As recently as the beginning of June, we reported in detail on the problem of unregulated gambling in Finland.

Videoslots must pay over two million euros in fines in the UK

Well-known online gambling operator Videoslots was also fined a record-breaking £2 million in mid-June. This is equivalent to a fine of around €2.3 million.

The UK gambling regulator has accused the Malta-based operator of having inadequate anti-money laundering measures. It is also alleged that there is a lack of social responsibility towards players. The breaches are said to have occurred between October 2019 and October 2022. As announced by the UK Gambling Authority, Videoslots has already accepted the verdict and is prepared to pay the million-dollar fine. The fine will be used for good causes.

In the Netherlands, the gaming regulator also fined the well-known gaming company N1 Interactive Ltd. €25 million this year. The pressure on online gambling operators from European gambling authorities seems to be increasing.

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