ATG warned after racecourse agent “misunderstanding”

Sweden’s former horse racing monopoly operator Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) has been handed a warning after an investigation by Spelinspektionen, the country’s gaming regulator, found that bookmakers had been allowed to operate at racecourses without the necessary approvals.

The infringements took place at courses in Tingsryd on May 31 and in Ovikens on June 22, with human error cited as the reason.

“Owing to a misunderstanding, betting terminals were opened despite the fact that the agents were missing their registrations,” Spelinspektionen said in its report into the incidents.

Applications to register the agents were subsequently submitted by ATG and then approved by the regulator at the Ovikens and Tingsryd courses on July 23 and July 29 respectively.

Spelinspektionen said that a “serious violation” had been committed, although in mitigation, it acknowledged that ATG had informed the regulator independently and the violations had only been allowed to occur for a limited period.

In addition, ATG took a “serious look at what had happened” and had reviewed its procedures for registering agents.

The racecourse operator has also now adopted policies to ensure that gambling via agents is only allowed when the appropriate approvals have been granted.

Spelinspektionen said that, given the steps taken by ATG, its intervention into the matter could stop at a warning.

In October, ATG reported a 12.6% increase in net gaming revenue for the third quarter of 2019 to set a new record for the business.