Supreme Administrative Court: sanction fees on net turnover: Allegations, Court Orders and Status

What this case is about

HFD 2023 ref. 25 is a judgment of the Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen (Sweden's Supreme Administrative Court) in Genesis Global Ltd mot Spelinspektionen, mål 3705-21, decided on 9 May 2023. It is a case between an operator and its regulator, one of the Regulators and Attorneys General in Court cases in our coverage.

Genesis Global failed for nine days in January 2019 to check players against the Spelpaus self-exclusion register. Spelinspektionen, the Swedish Gambling Authority, issued a warning and a sanction fee. The operator appealed.

Who is covered

The ruling affects every operator that Spelinspektionen sanctions under the Swedish Gambling Act (spellagen), because it fixes how the fee ceiling is measured. It does not cover players as a class, and no class action is involved.

For other Swedish matters, see Gambling Lawsuits in Sweden.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists for players in this case. It is a regulatory sanction fee, and the record shows no consumer claim process.

Money did change hands between operator and state: Spelinspektionen set the fee at SEK 1,000,000 on 31 August 2023 after the case was sent back. That sum goes to the state, not to players.

What the court decided

The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the warning on 9 May 2023. It held that "omsättning" in the Gambling Act means net turnover, meaning stakes minus paid-out winnings under good accounting practice. The 10% ceiling in spellagen 19 kap. 13 § and the proportionality of the fee must be assessed on that basis.

The fee went down at each earlier step:

As of 14 November 2026 the last step in the record is the 31 August 2023 decision setting the fee at SEK 1,000,000.

Why it matters

The judgment is a precedent for every later sanction fee case in Sweden, since the net turnover test now governs both the ceiling and proportionality.

Courts have cut Swedish fees before: of eight under-18 betting sanction judgments issued by Förvaltningsrätten i Linköping on 1 April 2020, two were upheld in full, five were reduced by about 10% and one was downgraded to a remark.

Spooniker, one of the two largest Swedish gambling penalties, shows the pattern of court reductions: its 2020 fee was reduced to SEK 30 million (final in 2024). More cases appear under Spelinspektionen Lawsuits.

Related cases

• Genesis Global Limited mot Spelinspektionen, FR Linköping 5341-19 (GL-SE-0014): Genesis Global VIP bonus case is a separate judgment involving the same operator and regulator.

Questions people ask

What does HFD 2023 ref. 25 decide?

It holds that "omsättning" in the Swedish Gambling Act means net turnover, stakes minus paid-out winnings. The sanction fee ceiling of 10% and proportionality are measured on that figure (mål 3705-21).

Do players receive anything from the fee?

No. The sanction fee is a penalty paid by the operator to the state. The record shows no consumer claim process in this case.