Trustdice.win banned in Sweden for unlicensed operations
Announced yesterday (10 April), the ban is effective immediately. The regulator said Satoshi Gaming must cease all operations in the country but stopped short of issuing a financial penalty.
Spelinspektionen said the issue primarily relates to the activities of Trustdice.win, which is owned and operated by Satoshi Gaming. It does so under a licence issued in Curaçao.
The regulator found Trustdice.win was offering games in Sweden and that players were able to access the site and create an account, despite it not being licensed locally.
On top of this, the site was ruled to be specifically targeting Swedish players. This includes publishing information such as terms and conditions in Swedish, while affiliates were distributing marketing in Swedish.
Satoshi Gaming IP blocking claim dismissed
In an initial response to the case in February, Satoshi Gaming stated it had blocked Swedish players from accessing the site. However, a follow-up investigation by Spelinspektionen found while the site was not accessible from the regulator’s IP address, agents could access from another address.
Having relayed this back to Satoshi Gaming, the operator in March committed to additional measures to block Swedish players. It added that it would remove any remaining Swedish-language text from the Trustdice.win site.
However, the regulator noted that there was no information as to when this would occur.
Regulator takes action against Satoshi Gaming
Analysing the case, Spelinspektionen took into account several factors that would determine the action Satoshi Gaming would face. This is in line with the country’s Gambling Act.
Much of this focuses on whether the website was intended for the Swedish market. This includes if the website features Swedish language and if players are able to access the site and create an account.
As all this applied to Trustdice.win, the regulator ruled Satoshi Gaming was in breach of the Gambling Act. Furthermore, it notes that as of yesterday, the operator has not ceased its operations in Sweden, despite pledging to do so.
As such, the regulator issued the ban to Satoshi Gaming, with this effective immediately.
“We consider that, in the interests of consumer protection and to guarantee gaming safety, it is important that the decision is complied with immediately,” Spelinspektionen said.
“The decision shall therefore apply immediately.”