Online gambling operator Kindred Group has been hit with a record fine by Sweden’s gambling regulator for violating rules on bonus offers to customers.

On Wednesday, Sweden’s Spelinspektionen regulatory agency announced that Kindred’s Swedish subsidiary Spooniker Ltd had “offered several different unauthorized bonuses” to local gamblers, prompting the regulator to issue a warning and impose a penalty fee of SEK100m (US$9.7m).

The offending bonus offers were initially flagged by Spelinspektionen in March 2019, but the regulator’s followup checks in May and June uncovered additional bonus violations as well as evidence that Kindred’s gambling brands were offering lottery products not covered under the company’s Swedish license.

Sweden’s regulated online gambling market restricts bonus offers to first-time customers only. Kindred’s alleged shortcomings included free spins for online casino customers, free bingo games, rewards for playing poker and a bingo loyalty program, perks that Kindred viewed as ‘in-game mechanics’ due to their lack of financial incentives.