Swedish trade body BOS warns AML fine plans risk 'double punishment' for online gambling operators

Branschföreningen för Onlinespel (BOS), the Swedish online gambling trade body, has asked the government to reconsider how anti-money laundering fines are calculated. Its call comes as a consultation on implementing the EU's new AML rules closes on 30 October.

The Ministry of Finance set out in a July memorandum how Swedish law should be adapted to the EU AML package. The bloc's new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation applies directly in all member states from 10 July 2027, and the ministry invited BOS and other affected organisations to comment.

BOS broadly supports the measures but objects to the idea that a fine for an operator's activities in Sweden could be based on the total turnover of its whole group. In its view, only Swedish turnover should count for sanctions relating to Sweden. The association argues that using group-wide figures creates clear risks of double punishment, which it says runs counter to both Swedish and EU law.

BOS also wants penalties to be based on gross gaming revenue, meaning what remains after winnings are paid out. It reasons that winnings are client funds rather than operator money. As an illustration, it said that of every SEK100 wagered, roughly SEK95 typically goes back to players and the operator keeps SEK5, which it believes should be the basis of any fine. It likened this to banks, which are fined on their own turnover rather than on the total held in customer accounts.

Secretary general Gustaf Hoffstedt said BOS welcomes the proposed package and sees it as a potentially important tool against money laundering. He added that a rethink is needed in some areas, particularly administrative fines, to ensure proportionality, avoid double punishment and promote legal certainty.

The argument is not new. In 2023 the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that penalty fees under the Gambling Act must rest on GGR rather than total turnover, in a case involving Genesis Global, which had been fined SEK4 million over its connection to the Spelpaus self-exclusion register. Previously, Spelinspektionen had calculated fines on total stakes.

The matter remains current. In July, the Administrative Court in Linköping upheld Spelinspektionen's AML fines of SEK6.5 million against Betsson Nordic, SEK5.5 million against Snabbare and SEK10 million against Spooniker. The EU reforms, first proposed by the European Commission in 2021, were adopted in 2024 and include a new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority.