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Spain’s biannual list of gambling operator sanctions includes several penalties for Flutter-owned companies, but the big money fines focus on a group of Curaçao-based operators.
Twenty operators were sanctioned or fined in the second half of 2022, with 13 of those in the serious category and seven in the very serious category.
Notable names that landed themselves on the list included TSG Interactive, which operates PokerStars and is owned by Flutter Entertainment.
TSG was fined €100,000 for serious infractions, including technical compliance failings with its online slots and €10,000 for awarding bonuses to new players too soon (before 30 days) and breaking advertising rules.
Flutter’s Tombola International Malta was also fined €160,000 and issued a written warning for serious infractions. It was found to be in violation of rules about promotions, bonuses and players who were not meant to be gambling.
Six of the seven companies listed in the very serious category are unlicensed in Spain and based out of Curaçao. These include Sprut Group, Propus Holdings BV, Dogsfortune LTD, Counder BV, OYINE NV and LA Entertainment N.V.
Those seven companies were fined €5m each, for a total of €35m, but given that they are based in Curaçao, it will be difficult for Spain’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which issues the fines, to actually collect.
The 13 serious sanctions totalled €560,000. Of those 13, four operators failed to meet technical standards for allowing players on the country’s self-exclusion list to gamble. Nine operators were not in compliance with the Royal Decree on Advertising.
Luckia, a Spanish gaming operator, was fined in relation to which players it offered promotions. It was also found to be in non-compliance “regarding the prohibition of the appearance of persons or personalities of public relevance or notoriety in commercial communications”.
