Swedish Gambling Regulator Continues Legal Fight with Zimpler. Disagreeing with a court’s decision, the watchdog confirmed its intention to appeal. Stockholm, Sweden, cityscape. Image Source: Shutterstock.com
A legal case between a payment services provider and the Swedish gambling regulator gained momentum. In May, the administrative court in Linköping revoked a cease order issued by the Swedish gambling regulator (Spelinspektionen) against the payment solutions provider, Zimpler.
That decision is subject to appeal to the Court of Appeal in Jönköping. A statement released by the gambling regulator reaffirmed its intention to continue the legal fight. On Wednesday, Spelinspektionen said it disagreed with the Linköping court’s decision from last month and will file an appeal.
“The Gaming Authority does not share the administrative court’s assessment and is therefore appealing the verdict to the Court of Appeal in Jönköping,“
reads a statement released by Spelinspektionen.
The gambling watchdog disagreed with the court’s assessment that it “lacked grounds for issuing the injunction” against Zimpler. Although the court acknowledged that the payment provider did offer services to operators that did not hold a Swedish license, it pointed out that this didn’t mean those companies specifically targeted customers in the European country.
“Contrary to the administrative law, the Spelinspektionen believes that Zimpler AB’s payment intermediary service means that the games in question are aimed at Sweden. By providing its payment service, Zimpler AB has promoted illegal gambling”
wrote Spelinspektionen.
In addition, the Swedish gambling authority acknowledged Zimpler’s position as an intermediary payment service provider that caters to the Swedish market. It claimed those actions promote illegal gambling.
The regulator’s plan to appeal the court’s decision involving the case with Zimpler coincided with another announcement. Again, on Wednesday, Spelinspektionen confirmed the release of its new digital assistant.
The regulator confirmed that the digital assistant answers frequently asked questions and delivers information regarding Spelpaus.se, the free service that enables gamblers to exclude from gambling activities in Sweden.
The new digital assistant will be available via a dialogue box that appears at the bottom right side of Spelinspektionen’s website. The gambling regulator will continue to develop the assistant by including more interest areas and updating information over time.