A hearing in Sweden has concluded that payment solutions company Zimpler can continue to provide its verification solutions in the country.
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gaming Authority, ordered Zimpler to cease offering its BankID solution to unlicensed gambling operators in the country in July 2023, asserting it was facilitating illegal gambling.
At the time, the gaming authority warned Zimpler it could be hit with a fine of up to £1.8m if it did not comply with its order. Despite this, the payments company filed an appeal order to the Swedish administrative court weeks after the initial order.
In May 2024, the court ruled in favour of Zimpler, deeming that its action had no basis for injunction and that it be thrown out. However, Spelinspektionen responded with an appeal to a different administrative court the next month that same year.
The regulator continued to argue that Zimpler’s verification tools were allowing illegal gambling to enter the market.
After a hearing at the Court of Appeal on 7 February, it has now been confirmed that Spelinspektionen’s case should be thrown out, citing irregularities within the regulator’s rulings surrounding the case it was presenting.
“The court finds all provision of games by gambling companies that lack a Swedish licence is not prohibited under the Gambling Act,” the court of appeals said. “This applies, for example, to such online games that are not aimed at the Swedish market.
The court found that the regulator’s guidelines lacked “concreteness” such as uncertainties around rules regarding unlicensed operators offering its services in English, which is not illegal for unlicensed operators in Sweden as it does not directly target native customers.
“Spelinspektionen has not shown there was illegal gambling, nor that Zimpler has promoted such. The appeal should therefore be rejected,” the court concluded.
