Sweden’s Spelinspektionen issued a banning order against Novatech on March 11, 2026, one day after the Dutch regulator KSA levied a record €24,846,000 fine against the same operator for illegal targeting of players in the Netherlands.
The Swedish action follows an inspection of five Novatech domains carried out between February 23 and 25. Spelinspektionen reviewed qbet.com, mangacasino.com, slotexpress.com, 55bet.com and 30bet.com, finding in each case that Swedish players could access and register on the platforms without restriction.
What Spelinspektionen Found
Inspectors determined that users connecting from Swedish IP addresses were automatically presented with Sweden’s country code during the registration flow, indicating the sites were actively targeting the domestic market. Novatech’s brands were also being promoted by content creators on streaming platforms through Swedish-language websites, a clear sign of deliberate market targeting.
A covert test purchase on qbet.com confirmed that Swedish players could open accounts and deposit without encountering geo-blocking or age verification checks. Both measures are mandatory under the Swedish Gambling Act. Spelinspektionen cited player protection as the primary basis for its banning order, and warned that any future violations would result in additional sanctions and potentially larger penalties.
Under Swedish law, all operators must hold a Swedish licence before offering gambling services to the domestic market. Novatech held no such licence.
Record Fine in the Netherlands
The KSA’s action, announced on March 10, represents the largest fine the Dutch regulator has ever imposed on an illegal operator. Investigators were able to register accounts, make deposits and gamble on Qbet.com and 55Bet.com without any technical barriers in place. As with the Swedish investigation, the platforms lacked visible age verification and accepted cryptocurrency and anonymous payment methods, which the KSA flagged as money laundering risks.
KSA Chair Michel Groothuizen put the scale of Novatech’s illegal operation in stark terms. The fine was calculated on estimated turnover generated from Dutch players, but capped under Dutch law at 10% of global revenue.
Novatech earned hundreds of millions from its illegal offering, primarily from Dutch players. A fine of €24m sounds impressive, but without the 10% maximum, the fine would have exceeded €100m — an amount that would be more appropriate for this offence.
The KSA also fined a second operator, Fortaprime SRL, €1,795,000 for running eight unlicensed brands including Amonbet and GXSpins under similar conditions. The KSA has been increasingly aggressive in enforcement, having previously issued substantial fines against unlicensed operators and, in February, penalising prediction market operator Polymarket for operating in the Netherlands without a gambling licence.
Enforcement Across Borders
The back-to-back actions from two separate regulators within 24 hours are unusual, and signal the mounting cross-border pressure facing unlicensed operators who target multiple European markets simultaneously. Novatech had previously been issued administrative orders to stop illegal operations by the KSA before the record fine was imposed — orders it ignored.
Both the KSA and Spelinspektionen acknowledged the practical limitations of enforcement against offshore operators with no physical presence in the regulated markets. The KSA noted it pursues illegal operators not only through administrative fines but through collaboration with payment providers, hosting companies, banks and large technology platforms. The regulator has previously used AML-based notices against non-compliant operators as part of this broader enforcement toolkit.
For Sweden, the Spelinspektionen ban adds to a pattern of tightening Nordic enforcement. Nordic regulators have intensified action against unlicensed activity across the region, with Sweden now joining the Netherlands in taking direct action against Novatech’s unlicensed portfolio. Whether either jurisdiction can collect the penalties — or force Novatech to comply — remains an open question given the operator’s offshore registration.
Source: Spelinspektionen; Kansspelautoriteit (KSA)
