Svenska Spel repays poker players affected by cheating scam
More than 25,000 players affected by group using unauthorised software " monopoly operator implements new monitoring procedures
Swedish monopoly operator Svenska Spel has paid out around SEK3.8m (£380,000) to players who lost money to a group using illegal poker software.
More than 25,300 players were affected, losing between SEK10 and SEK500 to a group of 15 individuals using unauthorised software to play on the operator’s poker site.
Since the cheating was identified in February this year, Svenska Spel and the poker software provider, Gtech subsidiary Boss Media, have analysed “millions of hands” to identify those who had been scammed.
Svenska Spel chief executive Lennart Käll described the investigation as “a long and drawn-out process”, but said “it feels good to be able to repay the money”.
He added that the operator has moved to tighten up security around the poker offering, including updating its monitoring system, and implementing new procedures “to detect similar violations” following an internal investigation into the incident.
The company posted a 13.8% year-on-year decline in poker revenues in its results for the three months ending 31 March this year, before signing a four-year extension to its deal with Boss Media in May.