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BOS Claims Swedish Banking Institutions Have Suspended Services Provided to Licensed Gambling Operators

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BOS Claims Swedish Banking Institutions Have Suspended Services Provided to Licensed Gambling Operators
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Gustaf Hoffstedt, secretary-general of the Swedish trade association Branscheforenigen för Onlinespel (BOS), has claimed that all of the country’s major banking institutions have suspended services they provide to licensed gambling operators.

BOS said that “all major Nordic banks” – including SEB, Swedbank, Nordea, Handelsbanken, DNB Nor and Danske Bank – stopped providing services to Swedish-licensed gambling operators at some point this year.

Claiming this is in violation of Swedish law, Hoffstedt has filed a complaint to the country’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen).

Most of these banks, Hoffstedt said, cited internal risk assessments or Sweden’s Anti-Money Laundering Act (PTL) as the reasons for account closures. The BOS secretary-general added that “in some cases the banks have not stated any reason at all”.

“As far as I am aware, no concrete justification for the dismissals and banks’ assessment has been provided in any case,” Hoffstedt said.

Hoffstedt added that gambling operators cannot function without banking services.

“Online gambling companies are, as stated above, dependent on basic financial infrastructure in the form of banking and payment services to conduct their business,” he explained. “This requires [them] to be able to store customers’ funds as well as receive deposits and make payments to customers.”

He added that the suspension of services meant that operators could no longer use Bank-ID, used to verify players’ identities. This meant they had lost access to a tool that was vital for fighting fraud and money laundering, Hoffstedt.

“Without access to the Bank-ID system, online gambling companies need to use alternative solutions to identify their customers. These solutions risk being neither as effective for companies nor as safe for users,” he explained.

Swedish Banks also provide the Swish payment service, which Hoffstedt said was also “very important” for operators.

Hoffstedt said that the banks’ decisions had worsened operating conditions for the country’s igaming licensees, as well as counteracting the goals of the Gambling Act.

He went as far as arguing that the actions were illegal.

Hoffstedt said banks have a contractual obligation to continue to provide banking services to these customers, unless there is a clear reason to break this agreement. Only in incidents where continuing to provide banking services would violate the PTL, or if the banking customer had committed misconduct, could agreements be broken, he claimed.

While Hoffstedt noted that banks may terminate agreements if they suspect a customer has connections to money laundering, he pointed out the PTL made clear that these assessments are at the customer level. They can, therefore, not be applied on a sweeping basis to a legal industry.

“Given that a large proportion of BOS members also received notice or notice of termination from the banks – all with general and overarching references to the risk of money laundering in the business – it seems obvious that the basis for the dismissals is a general business policy decision rather than a valid application of PTL,” he said.

“Under these circumstances, there is no possibility for the banks to deviate from their contractual obligation.”

BOS requested a dialogue with the Financial Supervisory Authority and said the regulator “should initiate a supervisory investigation of the banks’ handling and possibly intervene against the banks”.

SEB – one of the banks mentioned by BOS – however, argued it was not systematically ending relationships with gambling operators but rather examined the risk for every client on an individual basis.

“We always make an individual assessment of individual client relationships,“ SEB said. “When it comes to gambling companies, we generally have a cautious approach based on the raised risk level, not least connected to risks relating to money laundering and financial crime.”

Danske Bank, meanwhile, denied it had a policy specifically preventing gambling businesses from operating, but did say these businesses undergo a stricter screening process.

“Danske Bank does not exclude banking services for gambling operations as such,” Danske Bank said. “However, our assessment is that the gambling industry in general is associated with high risk and due to that we have tailored screening principles to ensure that the companies operate responsibly.

“In a case where a specific gambling client does not meet the requirements of our KYC-process or ESG-assessment, the ultimate consequence could be that we limit our offerings or refrain from enter into a business relationship.”

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Win tickets to the BLAST Premier Fall Final: GG.BET is running a MEGA BLAST Competition for fans of СS2

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From 26 July, all GG.BET users can get involved in the new MEGA BLAST Competition with a €10,000 prize fund. The winner will receive two tickets to the BLAST Premier Fall Final CS2 tournament, taking place from 27-29 September in Copenhagen. To enter, you need to place bets on Counter-Strike 2 matches.

BLAST Premier Fall is a major series of Counter-Strike 2 tournaments which draws in millions of viewers from all over the world every year. The series consists of three stages: Groups, Showdown, and Finals. The Groups stage sees 16 Tier-1 teams duke it out. Only 6 of these can go on to compete in the final, while the rest will battle it out in the Fall Showdown for two additional spots in the final. BLAST Premier Fall Finals will be the concluding stage of the Fall series, and fans can look forward to electrifying action, heart-stopping twists and turns, and an epic $425,000 prize fund.

From 26 July to 4 August, as the Groups stage rages on, GG.BET will be holding its MEGA BLAST Competition. The winner will get their hands on two tickets to attend every day of the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. As well as these tickets, the bookmaker is also giving away a whopping €10,000 prize fund to the top 40 participants in the MEGA BLAST Competition.

How to take part in the MEGA BLAST Competition:

  1. Register an account with GG.BET or log in to an existing account.
  2. Go to the tournament page and press “Participate”.
  3. Place bets on Counter-Strike 2 matches. Every bet you place will earn you a certain number of points, based on the odds.
  4. Rack up points, keep an eye on the leaderboard, and wait for your winnings to roll in.

Bet on your favorites and get ready for some unforgettable fun! Head over to GG.BET right now so you don’t miss your chance to enjoy a festival of Counter-Strike action in Copenhagen.

 

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MANCHESTER CITY TO MARK GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP WITH SUPER GROUP-OWNED BETWAY AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

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Manchester City has today announced a new multi-year partnership with leading global online betting and gaming brand, Betway.

As part of the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, and to mark this significant deal, leading figures from Manchester City and Super Group will be on-site for the iconic NYSE bell-ringing ceremony later today. Ferran Soriano, CEO of City Football Group, along with Neal Menashe, Super Group CEO, will ring The Opening Bell at 9:30am EDT.

The agreement will see Betway become the club’s Official Global Betting Partner from the start of the 2024/25 season, as Manchester City joins the brand’s extensive sports sponsorship portfolio which includes teams from across the Premier League, La Liga, NBA and more.

Ferran Soriano, City Football Group CEO, said: “We are pleased to announce Betway as our Official Global Betting Partner today. As a globally recognised brand, Betway has a strong pedigree and history of working with high-profile brands within the sports space and we’re excited to work together throughout the partnership.”

Super Group CEO, Neal Menashe, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to become Manchester City’s Official Global Betting Partner. This agreement cements our place in the top tier of Premier League partners, ensuring that our Betway brand reaches fans in all corners of the globe.”

Throughout the duration of the partnership, Manchester City and Betway will collaborate on a number of activations and exclusive content opportunities, in addition to the brand featuring across digital and in-stadia assets.

Manchester City and Betway will also work together to provide all players, coaches, management and staff in-depth, industry leading training on all relevant codes of conduct relating to betting integrity and responsible gambling. This is in addition to the work Manchester City already does to support players and staff in this area.

The Opening Bell ceremony can be viewed live.

 

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Compliance Updates

Acquiring a Curacao Online Gaming License in 2024: Comprehensive Analysis of Financial & Procedural Aspects with Costs & Timelines Detailed

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The “Acquiring a Curacao Online Gaming License, 2024: Comprehensive Analysis of Financial & Procedural Aspects with Costs & Timelines Detailed” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

This report includes valuable insights into the financial and procedural aspects, including detailed information on costs and timelines associated with acquiring a Curacao license.

In 2023, Curacao introduced the “Landsverordening op de kansspelen” (Ordinance on Games of Chance) to modernize and regulate gambling legislation. Since March 2020, the Gambling Control Board (GCB) has been authorized to regulate offshore gambling games and oversee the issuance of Curacao licenses. As of 2023, there are 16 companies providing legal services for registration and licensing in the territory of Curacao. The license fee, as per GCB regulations, is 36,000 ANG or 19,800 USD, payable upon license issuance.

Research Timeline and Data Relevance

The research was conducted in two stages. The first stage, studying the regulator and Open Data Search, took place in December 2023. The second stage, writing the report and partially updating the data from the first stage, took place from the end of April to the end of May 2024.

Goals and Objectives

  • Describe the information about the Curacao license and the issuing regulator.
  • Describe the requirements and conditions for obtaining a Curacao license.
  • Describe the costs and timelines for obtaining a Curacao license.
  • Briefly study the market, find and suggest the following lists:
    • Legal companies offering services for company registration and obtaining a Curacao license;
    • Communication agents and integrators working with the Curacao license;
    • Suppliers and vendors working with the Curacao license;
    • Payment systems working with the Curacao license.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Goals and Objectives

2. Research Timeline and Data Relevance

  • Document Markup
  • Raw and Combined Data
  • Terms & Glossary

3. General Information

  • The Regulator
    • Registration of Operators With Sublicense
    • Application for an Online Gaming License

4. Requirements and Conditions for Obtaining a License

License Conditions

  • General Prohibitions
  • Safe and Secure Environment
  • Equipment and Application Software
  • Player Registration
  • Payment Transactions
  • Games
  • Terms of Use
  • Resolution of Complaints
  • Administrative Responsibilities
  • Publicly Available Information
  • Reports
  • Policies and Procedures
  • Suspension and Revocation of License
  • Additional Conditions
  • Supervision

Recommendations or Minimum Requirements for the Business Plan

5. The Cost of the License

6. Decision Term and the Validity of the License

7. Application Method and Forms

8. Contact Information

9. Companies for Registration and Licensing

10. Integration Companies

11. Suppliers and Vendors

12. Payment Systems

13. META

14. Appendix: Terms & Glossary

For more information about this report visit researchandmarkets.com/r/izeo6g

 

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