Mandalorian has Swedish licence extended on appeal

Paf-owned Mandalorian Technologies has successfully appealed a sanction for breaching bonus regulations that saw its Swedish licence term shortened.

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Mandalorian was among the first operators to secure an online casino licence when Sweden regulated its igaming market in January 2019, but had its licenced shortened after it was ruled to have breached bonus rules in May last year.

At the time, Swedish gambling regulator Spelinspektionen said Mandalorian had offered bonuses on a number of occasions after players signed with the operator.

Swedish laws state licensees can only offer bonuses when players first sign up to their platform.

Mandalorian was issued an SEK9m (£787,296/€870,343/$1.0m) penalty as part of its punishment, while the operator also had its licence period reduced from five to two years.

The operator lodged an initial appeal against the ruling with the Administrative Court of Linköping, but this was rejected, with the Court saying that the financial part of the penalty was justified.

However, the Court also ruled that the decision by the regulator to reduce the licence to two years was not necessary, and instead ruled that the operator’s licence run for a period of three years, thus making it valid until January 2022.

Mandalorian is now known as PAF Multibrand Limited, having been acquired by Åland Islands-based gaming operator Paf in March this year.

The rebranded operator runs the No Account Casino, No Account Bet and Prank Casino brands in Sweden.

The announcement came after Spelinspektionen clarified its position on licence terms, setting out how licensees’ financial health affects their permits in the country.

A number of applicants for a licence in 2019 were only issued year-long permits, on the basis the subsidiary companies through which the operators filed their submissions were in negative equity.

Some operators appealed to the Administrative Court of Linköping, and by doing secured three-year licences, two years shorter than the maximum five years.

Spelinspektionen said it would use the court’s decisions as a precedent for future decisions on companies in a similar position.