Betway warned by Spelinspektionen for reporting negative equity

In July 2020 Spelinspektionen requested Betway’s annual report and auditor’s report for its 2019 financial year. Betway had reported a loss of €50.3m and negative equity of €4.8m.

Its parent company, Betway Group Limited, reported a loss of €42.4m and a positive equity of €49.9m, while its subgroup, Betway Limited Consolidated Group, recorded a loss of €60.4m and negative equity of €13.8m.

Betway is registered in Malta, and the Malta Companies Act states that it allows negative capital as long as a company can provide proof that it can continue to conduct business.

In October 2021 Betway submitted a capital guarantee from its parent group, at the request of Spelinspektionen, in response to how it can improve this negative equity.

Spelinspektionen concluded that Betway “lacks its own capital base” and is “completely dependent” on support from its parent company.

In addition, the regulator outlined that the capital guarantee “compensates only partially” for the negative equity.

Betway violated chapter 4, section 1, subsection 3 of Sweden’s Gambling Act, which allows the granting of licences to operators that can prove themselves suitable.

In response Spelinspektionen has issued a warning to Betway, assessing the infringement as “minor”.

In December 2021 Spelinspektionen fined Betway SEK100,000 for accidentally making a bonus campaign available to all customers, instead of to customers that had signed up to one of Betway’s minor brands.

Last week Betway’s owner, Super Group, completed a $4.75bn (£3.54bn/€4.23bn) merger with publicly traded special purpose acquisition business Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp (SEAC), allowing Super Group to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

SEAC entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Super Group in April last year.