Swedish watchdog fines Kindred-led Spooniker €870K over AML lapses
In yet another regulatory blow, Swedish watchdog Spelinspektionen has fined Kindred-owned subsidiary Spooniker of SEK 10 million (£778,160 / €870,000) and also issued a formal warning for serious breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) and customer due diligence rules.
According to the , the operator had failed to collect adequate information on where customers’ money was coming from, limiting its ability to assess whether transactions were legitimate or linked to money laundering or terrorist financing.
Regulator finds no improvements
The fine follows a previous inspection in 2022, where Spooniker was also penalised SEK 10.9 million (£849,000 / €950,000) for not meeting enhanced due diligence standards. The latest review, covering 1 May 2023 to 30 April 2024, was carried out to evaluate whether the operator had improved its practices.
However, the SGA found that Spooniker had not taken timely or sufficient steps to address the issues. In one instance, five customer accounts were reviewed, with deposits ranging from SEK 620,000 to SEK 830,000 (£48,000–£65,000 / €54,000–€72,000). Three of these triggered internal monitoring systems multiple times for unusually high deposits and game patterns — yet only one customer’s taxable income was checked, and no further action was taken.
The SGA concluded that Spooniker’s enhanced due diligence measures were applied “too late.”
Spooniker disputes findings
Spooniker pushed back against the regulator’s conclusions, calling its approach to deposit monitoring “disproportionate” and “administratively burdensome.” The company argued that fund origin checks should be based on the “actual risk” presented by a customer rather than enforced across the board.
The operator added that no signs of money laundering or terrorist financing were found in the reviewed accounts. It also noted that, despite high staff turnover in its AML team, it had implemented improvements — such as linking deposit thresholds to taxable income, applying risk-based assessments, and conducting both internal reviews and external audits by specialists.
Past offences add to regulator’s decision
Earlier in December 2024, SGA issued a warning to Spooniker and fined the operator SEK 30 million (£2.3 million / €2.6 million) after finding it had offered unauthorised bonuses and lotteries not permitted under its licence. This case had been ongoing since March 2020, when the regulator initially set the sanction fee at SEK 100 million (£7.8 million / €8.7 million). Spooniker appealed that decision, leading to a lengthy process before the final ruling was delivered in 2024.
This was not the first regulatory action against the operator. In 2021, Spooniker won an appeal after Spelinspektionen accused it of allowing users to deposit more than the SEK 5,000 (£390 / €435) limit introduced in 2020.
Spelinspektionen said the latest fine and warning were “proportionate to the seriousness of the violations,” citing the long duration of non-compliance, poor cooperation, and failure to fix previous shortcomings.
Broader crackdown targets multiple operators
Spooniker’s case is part of a broader pattern of regulatory enforcement in Sweden. Last week, the Swedish Gambling Authority had fined online gambling operator Videoslots SEK12 million (€1.1m/£942,670) for failing to protect players from excessive gambling. The regulator also issued a formal warning, stating the company had breached duty of care rules under Chapter 14, Section 1 of Sweden’s Gambling Act.
“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,” the regulator said.
In March, the SGA fined Glitnor Services SEK 28 million (£2.2 million / €2.4 million) and Roar Vegas SEK 8 million (£620,000 / €700,000) for failing to meet responsible gambling standards. Among those affected were young players aged 18–24 — a group identified as particularly vulnerable by the regulator.
The Swedish Gambling Authority continues to hold operators accountable for customer protection and AML compliance.
