Videoslots fined £1m by SGA for responsible gambling failure

Videoslots has been hit with a SEK12m (£1m) fine by the Swedish Gambling Authority (SGA) for another breach of responsible gambling rules. This is the latest in a growing list of fines received by the company: a list that includes other fines from the same authority, as well as UKGC fines for similar breaches. 

Videoslots launched in 2011 as a single online casino site. However, the group developed a portfolio of sites that includes, along with the original Videoslots site, Mr Vegas, Mega Riches, and DBET. 

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In December 2024, Videoslots Group, which oversees all of the entities, rebranded as Immense Group while also appointing a new CEO, Jesper Karrbrink, at the end of 2024. By that time, the Videoslots website was already being analysed and investigated by the SGA.

The investigation launched in spring 2024 and over three months, the SGA monitored a dozen accounts, including five accounts belonging to young players aged between 18 and 24. 

The authority published a report showing all 12 accounts showed signs of problematic activities. These signs included long gaming sessions as well as frequent and sizable deposits. 

One account lost £325,000 during the three months while a different account made 28 deposits in one day. In some instances, Videoslots’ system flagged the activities, but the only countermeasures taken by the site were to show pop-up messages and send emails to the users in question. 

The SGA suggested that deposit limits should have been in place, and that problem accounts should have been suspended. 

While handing down its punishment, the regulator said: “The violation may be considered serious in the same respect because it has negatively affected individual players in such a way that they have lost large amounts of money in a short period of time. The company shall therefore be given a warning combined with a penalty fee.”

Following the decision, Videoslots countered by claiming that Swedish data protection regulations prevented them from accessing certain user data during the timeframe. They also pointed out that Videoslots limited access to more than 1,000 accounts during the three months and said that regulations do not take into account other factors. 

A statement from the company read: “The decision appears to assume that monthly deposits above SEK10,000 are inherently problematic irrespective of a player’s income, loss, or actual time spent playing.”

The SGA did acknowledge that Videoslots cooperated with the investigation and made improvements to their systems during the period of investigation, suggesting that these factors meant a fine and warning were sufficient punishment and that the group would not have its license reviewed. 

Videoslots was previously handed a SEK9m fine in 2023 for failing to meet anti-money laundering requirements. On appeal, the Swedish administrative court reduced the fine to SEK4m but upheld the general verdict of the SGA. 

In the UK, earlier in 2023, the group settled on a £2m payment to the UK Gambling Commission for social responsibility failures.