Zimpler AB, a payments provider has had a partial prohibition against it overturned by the Swedish Court of Appeal.
Spelinspektionen, the Swedish gambling regulator, officially warned the company in July 2023. The warning stated that the company might face a fine of SEK 25m or €2.2 million.
While authorized by Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority, Spelinspektionen accused Zimpler AB of providing BankID-enabled payment processing services. The services were given to igaming operators not licensed by the gambling authority.
BankID is an obligatory electronic ID requirement that Swedish banks must comply with for customer protection reasons.
After an anonymous tip-off highlighted the alleged breach, Spelinspektionen launched an investigation. The regulator concluded that there was enough evidence to raise concern.
The payments firm announced it would appeal the regulator’s decision later that year. It argued that the regulator based the decision on a single anonymous account and failed to properly consider Zimpler’s ongoing compliance with the then-new foreign operator laws.
Last year, the Swedish Administrative Court stated that Spelinspektionen had no reasonable grounds to issue the injunction. The court ruled in favor of the appeal and overturned the decision.
Bringing the case to the Swedish Court of Appeal for a final review, Spelinspektionen in turn appealed the ruling. After the regulator officially dismissed the appeal, they reached a similar conclusion.
The Court of Appeal’s statement read that it is undisputed Zimpler provided its payment service solution to various gambling operators offering online gambling. Among these operators are some without a license under the Gambling Act.
The Court of Appeal finds that gambling companies without a Swedish license do not violate the Gambling Act by providing gambling. The Gambling Act and its preparatory work lack specific details about what makes a gambling company aimed at Sweden.
The Swedish Gambling Authority has not shown that there was illegal gambling, nor that Zimpler has promoted such. The court should therefore dismiss the appeal.
