On Thursday, the Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal rejected appeals made by Hillside, the parent company of Bet365, confirming that the operator violated player protection obligations outlined in Swedish gambling legislation.
During the period from 2019 to 2022, two subsidiaries of Hillside—Hillside (Gaming) and Hillside (Sports)—were found to have fallen short in their duty of care to players. This failure included breaching mandatory deposit limit regulations.
The court upheld previous warnings and imposed fines of SEK 4 million (approximately $401,010) on the gaming division and a significant SEK 40 million on the sports betting operations.
The court sided with Sweden’s gambling regulator, agreeing that Hillside did not act promptly or effectively in various instances where customers displayed signs of problematic or excessive gambling. According to the Swedish Gaming Act (Chapter 14, Section 1), license holders are required to monitor player activity continuously and intervene when necessary to prevent harm.
Investigations revealed that Hillside overly relied on automated communications, such as pop-ups, emails, and reminders about spending. Additionally, the company was slow to conduct manual reviews and delayed imposing access restrictions, even as risky behaviors were observed.
From January 1, 2019, to April 18, 2022, Hillside’s platform allowed customers to choose a "no limit" deposit option. This option circumvented the legal requirement for players to actively select a limit on daily, weekly, and monthly deposits. Although there was a technical cap of SEK 500 million, it was not effectively communicated or enforced, making it inconsistent with Swedish law.
Both the Administrative Court in Linköping and the Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping ruled that the combination of warnings and significant financial penalties was appropriate. The initial fine proposed by Spelinspektionen for the gaming company was reduced but ultimately upheld at SEK 4 million. For the sports betting operations, the initial fine of SEK 65 million was decreased, resulting in a considerable penalty of SEK 40 million.
In an analysis conducted by Spelinspektionen, the 10 players who incurred the highest losses over a two-month period, from October 17 to December 17, 2021, were examined closely. Despite triggering Hillside’s internal early risk detection system, these players saw delayed and inconsistent interventions.
Reports indicated that Hillside’s reliance on automated messaging without timely escalation to manual controls was excessive. It sometimes took nearly one month for the operator to apply stricter limitations, despite ongoing risky behaviors from players.
Hillside defended its early risk detection system, claiming its general effectiveness and pointing out that the sample examined was a small fraction of its total customer base. The company also argued that there was a lack of precision in regulatory guidance regarding intervention timing and maintained that its “no limit” setup was functionally capped and adhered to preliminary guidance. However, these arguments were dismissed by the courts as inadequate to dismiss the proven violations.
Spelinspektionen highlighted that the players in question continued to face losses despite the operator's typically informational interventions. The regulator noted the failure to enforce mandatory deposit limits as a persistent issue that did not align with the statutory requirements.
This is not the first instance where Hillside's practices have faced scrutiny regarding player protection measures. Earlier in the year, the Dutch gambling regulator, Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), issued a binding order against Hillside for not meeting certain duty of care obligations. According to the KSA, Hillside "did not adequately" respond to indications that players may have been gambling beyond their means. The enforcement period for this issue was stated from December 6, 2024, to June 6, 2025, pointing out the operator's failure to implement suitable interventions.
