Swedish court upholds $1.3m duty of care penalty against Videoslots

The Administrative Court in Linköping has issued two separate judgments on Swedish duty of care enforcement, upholding a SEK 12m ($1.3m) sanction against Videoslots while annulling an SEK 8m penalty against Roar Vegas.

The rulings follow two Swedish Gambling Authority decisions from spring 2025. Videoslots was issued a warning and sanction fee on 16 April 2025 after the regulator found deficiencies in its handling of player protection obligations.

The court agreed with the regulator’s assessment for the majority of players examined and found that Videoslots had clearly breached its duty of care. The operator’s appeal was therefore rejected.

In the Roar Vegas case, the court reached the opposite conclusion. The Swedish Gambling Authority had issued the operator a warning and SEK 8m sanction fee on 24 March 2025, but the court found that Roar Vegas had not clearly breached its duty of care and annulled the decision.

Sweden’s duty of care requirement sits under Chapter 14, Section 1 of the Gambling Act. It requires licence holders to protect players from excessive gambling and help them reduce gambling where intervention is needed.

The Swedish Gambling Authority has used the provision in several enforcement cases since the regulated market opened in 2019, but operators have increasingly challenged how the standard is interpreted.

The split judgments add to a developing line of Swedish case law on responsible gambling controls. In 2025, the Administrative Court also annulled a SEK 100m sanction against Svenska Spel Sport & Casino in another duty of care case, with Svenska Spel calling for greater clarity on the regulator’s interpretation.

Roar Vegas is linked to the LeoVegas brand in Sweden, while LeoVegas Group has been part of MGM Resorts International since its 2022 acquisition. MGM’s later online expansion has included LeoVegas’ acquisition of Tipico’s US sportsbook platform, aimed at supporting international sportsbook operations outside BetMGM.

Videoslots has also faced regulatory action in Great Britain. In November 2025, the operator received a £650,000 ($849,000) Gambling Commission fine for AML and social responsibility failings, including weaknesses in customer monitoring and deposit-limit controls.