Swedish regulator prevails in Nyheter24 case

A fine issued by Sweden’s gambling regulator in 2017 to a news portal that linked to unlicensed gambling sites has been upheld by the Jönköping Administrative Court of Appeal.

The case dates back to 2014, when the regulator – then known as Lotteriinspektionen, but since rebranded as Spelinspektionen – issued an injunction against Nyheter24 for marketing lotteries organised in other countries, by linking to offshore gambling sites.

At this time, before the new Gambling Act came into force from 1 January 2019, it was illegal to promote unlicensed gambling sites under the Lottery Act, the legislation governing the market at that point.

This injunction came into force in October 2017, after the Supreme Administrative Court decided against granting Nyheter24 permission to take the case to a trial.

A new check in November 2014 found that links to foreign gambling sites still existed on the Nyheter24 site, prompting Lotteriinspektionen to issue an SEK100,000 (£8,434/€9,475/$10,390) fine.

This was upheld by an Administrative Court ruling in 2018, which prompted Nyheter24 to launch a challenge in the Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping.

Should Nyheter24 wish to take the case further, it has been given leave to challenge the regulator’s ruling in the Swedish Supreme Administrative Court.