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The Swedish Consumer Agency (KO) has issued warnings to gambling operators Mr Green (MRG) and Karl Casino who have sent marketing material to players on the national self-exclusion register (Spelpaus).
Spelpaus system went live at the start of the year with the opening of the regulated Swedish online gaming market and allows players to exclude themselves from all real-money gambling for a specific or indefinite period.
William Hill-owned Mr Green and Karl Casino, a brand operated by L&L Europe Ltd, have been ordered to cease all communications with consumers who have signed up to Sweden’s national self-exclusion system. If they don’t comply, the KO could issue each operator with a fine of SEK2m (€190k).
“The law is very clear on this point; the idea is that players who want to pause or stop playing should be completely protected from direct inducements to gamble, as well as from getting advertising directly on mobile devices or via email,” said KO process counsel Johanna Nyblom.
Both operators said communications were sent to the consumers in error, citing issues regarding the mapping of information between the customer database and the platform for mail, as well as advertising sent via a partner without its knowledge. They insist that they had upgraded their systems to ensure future compliance.
So far, over 45k Swedes have opted for some form of online gambling time-out using The Spelpaus system, with the available options going from one month to ‘until further notice.’
