The Swedish gambling regulator has appealed the Administrative Court's verdict to overturn a sanction imposed on payment solutions company Zimpler.
Zimpler was threatened by Spelinspektionen with an SEK25m (£1.79m) fine last July for allegedly offering payment solutions to gaming companies that lack a Swedish gaming licence.
Spelinspektionen said its investigation found that Zimpler is offering solutions containing BankID to unlicensed companies.
The Court of Appeal heard the case and overturned the sanction in May.
However, the Swedish regulator said the Administrative Court has “incorrectly assessed” that Zimpler’s payment intermediary service “does not mean that the games are targeting Sweden.”
“It is also an incorrect conclusion that Zimpler, by entering into agreements with foreign gambling companies and providing its payment service, has not promoted illegal gambling.”
The websites Zimpler was supplying “are not only accessible from Sweden, but they are made available to Swedish consumers in such a way that they must be considered designed for the Swedish market,” a key point which it says fulfils the definition of illegal gaming.
“The relevant websites would have been accessible to Swedish players even without Zimpler's payment solution,” it said.
“However, the gambling companies in question have not been content with merely making their websites accessible to the Swedish market.
“It is evident that the gambling companies have actively sought to attract and entice Swedish players by offering Zimpler's payment service.”
The regulator said the appeal should be examined by a “higher court” as there is a “lack of precedent regarding both when gambling companies are considered to be targeting Sweden and the scope of the promotion prohibition.”
