Mr. Green Casino will need to pay a SEK 31.5 million penalty after its appeal to have the fine waivered was rejected by an administrative court.
Last year, Mr. Green was fined the equivalent of $3.1 million by the Swedish gambling authorities, Spelinspektionen for “failing to comply with due diligence and AML duties in order to protect customers.”
In other words, the authorities accused the online casino of failing to maintain reporting standards under the country’s Money Laundering Act.
They also said that Mr. Green failed on its customer care duties by not taking sufficient action to help customers reduce their spend on gambling.
On one occasion, the authority said a customer was allowed to continue gambling even though he was spending six times his salary.
Mr. Green contested the penalty imposed on it by the Swedish authorities, arguing that the examples given by Spelinspektionen were of player accounts that met all the standards of the Malta Gaming Authority.
The online casino said that it had alerted the authority that it was overhauling its customer care department to bring it in line with Sweden’s new Gambling Act standards.
However, all this came to naught when the administrative court judge rejected the appeal, saying that Spelinspektionen’s ruling was “fair and proportionate.”
According to the gambling authority, the court ruled that Mr. Green “had not fulfilled its obligations under the duty of care regarding the customers in question. The warning was considered a sufficient measure, and the decided sanction fees were considered proportionate.”