Sweden upholds ‘aggressive’ ad complaints against Ninja Casino

Sweden’s government is praising a court ruling that upheld complaints of overly ‘aggressive’ advertising by Global Gaming’s Ninja Casino brand.

On Friday, Sweden’s Patent and Market Court upheld all 20 complaints brought against Global Gaming subsidiary Elec Games by the country’s Consumer Ombudsman (KO). The watchdog had taken exception to Ninja Casino’s online and offline promotional efforts, including claims of speedy withdrawals of winnings and suggestions that customers could “take home millions” by gambling with the site.

Sweden’s online gambling regulations contain a vague requirement for licensees to exercise ‘moderation’ in advertising material and the Court found that Ninja Casino’s promos had fallen short of that mark through the use of ‘intrusive’ pop-up ads and exhortations for customers to “Play Now!”

Court chairman Alexander Ramsay said “there is a link between gambling advertising and gambling problems and [the Court] has paid special attention to how marketing is perceived” by vulnerable individuals. Companies that fail to exercise moderation in future will be subject to fines of up to SEK500k (US$52k) per incident.