On Thursday, the Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal upheld previous rulings against Hillside Group, the parent company of Bet365, dismissing the company's appeals concerning breaches of player protection obligations under Swedish gambling laws.
Both of Hillside's subsidiaries, Hillside (Gaming) and Hillside (Sports), were found negligent in their duty of care for players from 2019 to 2022, specifically failing to comply with mandatory deposit limit regulations. As a result, the court confirmed the warnings and financial penalties imposed, which amounted to SEK4 million ($401,010) for the gaming entity and SEK40 million for the sports betting arm.
The decision was in favor of Sweden’s gambling regulator, which indicated that Hillside did not act quickly or effectively enough in several individual cases where customers displayed signs of problematic gambling behavior. The Swedish Gaming Act (Chapter 14, Section 1) stipulates that licensed operators must continuously monitor player activity and take necessary measures to mitigate any potential harm.
Hillside was criticized for overly relying on automated communications, such as pop-ups, emails, and spending reminders, and was slow to shift to manual reviews. Furthermore, the company delayed enacting access restrictions despite ongoing risky behaviors observed in players.
Hillside's platform allowed customers to choose a "no limit" deposit setting between 1 January 2019 and 18 April 2022, which disregarded the law requiring players to actively select a daily, weekly, and monthly upper deposit limit. Although there was a technical cap of SEK500 million, it was not effectively communicated or enforced as an active limit, making it non-compliant with Swedish regulations.
Both the Administrative Court in Linköping and the Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping agreed that the combination of warnings and fines was appropriate. The financial penalty for the gaming subsidiary was reduced from Spelinspektionen’s original proposal but confirmed at SEK4 million. For the sports betting operations, the initial SEK65 million fine was adjusted to SEK40 million.
The analysis by Spelinspektionen focused on the ten players with the highest losses over a two-month period from 17 October to 17 December 2021. Five of these players were studied in detail, showcasing frequent deposits and losses that triggered Hillside’s internal early risk detection system. However, interventions were delayed and inconsistent.
Investigations highlighted Hillside’s reliance on automated messages rather than timely manual oversight. In some cases, it took nearly a month for the company to implement stricter restrictions, despite the persistence of risky behavior.
Hillside defended its actions by asserting that its early risk detection system was generally effective and characterized the analyzed sample as unrepresentative of its broader customer base. The company also pointed out that Swedish regulations were vague regarding the timing of interventions and claimed the “no limit” option was functionally capped and adhered to initial guidance. Yet, the courts found these arguments insufficient to negate the identified breaches.
Spelinspektionen stated that the analyzed customers suffered continuous losses despite Hillside’s informational interventions. The regulator described the neglect to enforce deposit limits as a systemic fault incompatible with the legal framework.
This incident is not Hillside's first controversy regarding player protection; earlier this year, the Dutch regulator Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) issued a binding order against the company for failing to meet specific duty of care standards. The KSA noted that Hillside inadequately responded to indications that players may have been gambling beyond their means during the period from 6 December 2024 to 6 June 2025.
