Swedish gambling regulators at the Spelinspektionen are hopping mad this week at the owners and operators of Videslots for allegedly running afoul of Swedish deposit rules for online gamblers. Company officials say that the Spelinspektionen’s got it all wrong and that they’re really not doing anything wrong at all. It’s a game of he-said-she-said that’s certain to snake through the Swedish legal system before it reaches a conclusion.
At the heart of the issue is an alleged practice by Videoslots of allowing players to make “reverse withdrawals”. This innocent sounding practice allows established players to circumvent Swedish deposit limits by calling back, or reversing, old withdrawals. It’s a highly controversial practice that’s frowned upon by gambling regulators across the world. Officials in New Jersey recently warned their licensed operators to steer clear of reverse withdrawals altogether.
It’s worth noting that some players were “reversing” withdrawals they’d made two months prior. To say that this practice could cause major problems for problem gamblers is something of an understatement, but that’s not how officials at Videslots see the situation.
According to a recent report by iGamingBusiness.com, Videoslots is fighting the allegation in court, claiming that the deposit cap is a violation of EU regulations anyways. A rep for Videslots said, “We do not, however, believe that we were in breach of the COVID-19, or any other regulations, and call for greater clarity to aid responsible operators like ourselves. Furthermore, we maintain our position that these regulations are both unreasonable and unjustifiable.”
Not surprisingly, the folks over the Spelinspektionen disagree with that interpretation and are threatening to place major fines on the company if they persist.