Table of Contents
Sweden‘s gambling regulator Spelinspektionen, has fined TSG Interactive PLC, a company of Flutter Group, 7 million SEK. Along with this, a warning has also been given because the company did not follow anti-money laundering (AML) rules properly. This review was based on the data of 2023.
Was the check done against TSG?
In May 2024, Spelinspektionen started a review of TSG’s AML system. The focus was on how the company handled customer due diligence (CDD) in 2023.
The regulator looked at the profiles of 10 young customers (18–29 age group) who were making the highest deposits. These people had deposited lakhs of rupees, but the company did not apply proper enhanced due diligence (EDD) on them.
TSG used to assume medium risk for all new users by default, and the system used to update the score based on their behavior. But this system did not do deep analysis. The regulator said that the company did not properly check the purpose of customer relation and their profile.
Deposit limits were also found to be wrong
TSG had made an internal rule:
- If a customer deposits $20,000 in one go
- or deposits a total of $40,000 in a year
- then the source-of-funds will be checked.
The regulator said this limit is too high. This allows risk-taking people to escape easily. TSG monitored on a net deposit (deposit – withdrawal) basis, where customers repeatedly added and withdrew money, confusing the system.
In one example, a customer deposited SEK 267,000 (almost ₹20 lakh) in 4 months, but the company took no immediate action. In the second case, documents were taken, but their relation to the risk analysis was not explained.
The excuse of poker winnings did not work
TSG said that some customers make deposits from their poker winnings, so it is legal. But the regulator rejected this excuse. It said, “If you are making payouts yourself, then there is no proof of the source of deposits.” Without documents, this claim was considered fake.
What was the regulator’s verdict?
Spelinspektionen said:
- TSG violated several important sections of AML law
- The company’s approach was very slow and passive
- They increased the risk of money laundering by setting high thresholds
- For this reason they were fined 7 million SEK and issued a formal warning. Their license has not yet been revoked, but the regulator made it clear that improvements are now necessary.
Also Read: Is Bet365 For Sale? The £9 Billion Question
