Key Moments:
- The Court of Appeal in Jönköping imposed a three-million-kronor (approximately €260,000) penalty on ATG for serious anti-money-laundering violations.
- ATG’s net gaming revenues dropped 2% in the second quarter of 2025 to 1,358 million SEK (120 million EUR), with total revenues also down 2% to 1,540 million SEK (136 million EUR).
- A recent government proposal seeks to expand the criminalization of unlicensed gambling, with strong support from ATG.
Legal Decision Ends Long-Standing Dispute
A Swedish appellate court has ruled against Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG), ordering the prominent betting operator to pay a three-million-kronor fine for breaches of anti-money-laundering (AML) regulations. The decision, reported by Nyheterna, confirms the Swedish Gambling Authority’s (Spelinspektionen) findings that ATG did not take adequate steps to detect and prevent money laundering or terrorist financing. This reverses an earlier Administrative Court verdict that had sided with the company.
The presiding judge, Louise Millqvist, stated, “The breach concerns fundamental customer-due-diligence obligations, and the transactions involved substantial sums of money,” as quoted by Nyheterna. This verdict brings a protracted dispute between the operator and regulator to its conclusion, adding to the operational pressures ATG faces amid declining profits and increased competition from unlicensed gambling entities.
Background on Regulatory Proceedings
Spelinspektionen originally levied a six-million-kronor fine on ATG in November 2022 due to significant deficiencies in the company’s transaction monitoring systems. At the time, Spelinspektionen maintained that ATG’s efforts to mitigate the risk of its platforms serving as channels for money laundering or terrorist financing were inadequate, according to Nyheterna.
After ATG contested the penalty, the Administrative Court judged the sanction to be disproportionate and overturned it. However, the appellate court’s latest decision reimposes the penalty, albeit at half the initial amount. Both the financial and symbolic implications of the ruling present considerable challenges for ATG as it seeks to maintain its status as a responsible market leader.
Financial Performance Amid Regulatory Pressures
The AML penalty coincides with lackluster financial performance for ATG. In the first half of 2025, ATG reported that net gaming revenues fell 2% in the second quarter to 1,358 million SEK (120 million EUR), with total revenues also declining 2% to 1,540 million SEK (136 million EUR). First-half net gaming revenues declined 5% to 2,566 million SEK (226 million EUR).
Chief executive Hasse Lord Skarplöth attributed these results to Sweden’s gambling tax hike from 18 percent to 22 percent in mid-2024, on top of weaker household consumption. “The higher gambling tax alone increases costs by 105 million SEK,” the company said at the time. Despite these headwinds, Skarplöth noted that ATG’s active customer base remained stable at around 1.4 million over the past year.
| Period | Net Gaming Revenue (SEK) | Net Gaming Revenue (EUR) | Total Revenue (SEK) | Total Revenue (EUR) | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 1,358 million | 120 million | 1,540 million | 136 million | -2% |
| H1 2025 | 2,566 million | 226 million | N/A | N/A | -5% (net gaming revenue) |
Market Reform Efforts and Industry Response
ATG has taken a public stance as an advocate for higher standards and regulatory enforcement within Sweden’s gambling industry, particularly following the dissolution of the state monopoly system in 2019. Last year, ATG’s own research highlighted the significant scale of unlicensed gambling in Sweden, estimating that 14 to 29 percent of all activity occurs outside the regulated framework, far short of the official goal for 90 percent channelisation.
ATG’s report, Gambling Under the Radar, urged the adoption of stricter measures against illegal operators, including IP and DNS blocking, redefinitions of what constitutes gambling accessible to Swedish consumers, and tighter bonus restrictions. “We could no longer sit on our hands and watch customers get hurt in the unlicensed market,” Skarplöth said at the time, emphasizing that regulated companies face greater restrictions than those operating illegally.
This regulatory push came to fruition in late September, when the government received a major proposal to broaden the criminalization of unlicensed gambling. The suggested reform, developed by Marcus Isgren, would introduce a “participation criterion,” making it illegal for Swedish consumers to engage in unlicensed gambling regardless of language, currency, or marketing. ATG welcomed the recommendation as a critical step in limiting offshore operators’ reach.
Industry Events on the Horizon
Industry attention is also turning toward the upcoming SiGMA Central Europe conference, which is set to take place in Rome from November 3 to 6, 2025. This event is expected to assemble 30,000 industry leaders to chart the future direction of the iGaming sector.
- Author
Daniel Williams
