Zimpler to Terminate BankID Services for Unlicensed Operators in Sweden

The Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) has issued a directive to Zimpler AB, one of the most widely used gambling payment options in Europe, to stop processing payments for any unlicensed gambling operators. The regulator says that the company faces a penalty of SEK 25 million (€2.2 million) if they fail to abide by this directive.

Spelinspektionen has evidence that Zimpler has broken BankID-associated transaction regulations. Zimpler is one of the payment options that is classified as a payment services provider by Finansinspektionen (Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority).

An investigation uncovered that Zimpler had facilitated payments through BankID on unlicensed gambling sites. BankID is a required e-identification service provided by Swedish banks to protect domestic customers. Spelinspektionen requires this service to be provided only on regulated live casino sites.

Since 2022, over 8 million people have registered for BankID, which is managed by Finansinspektionen. It is already supported by 6,000 web services. According to Spelinspektionen, Zimpler has time until July 31, 2023, to abide by the order or face a hefty penalty of 25 million Swedish Krona.

The Inspectorate has made known that they were given an 'anonymous tip-off' that Zimpler is providing payment services to gaming firms without appropriate accreditations in Sweden. The informant went on to state that Zimpler was "sharing customer information via their deposits".

Currently, Swedish gamblers on unlicensed websites have two payment options:

• Credit Cards
• Debit Cards
• Instant Bank Transfer

When players choose the Instant Bank Transfer option, they see the logo of Zimpler. Then, the player’s Know Your Customer (KYC) information is instantly transmitted to the online live casino via Zimpler's systems.

Zimpler has claimed that they do not consider their behavior to be illegal marketing. Nonetheless, the company has decided to discontinue any relationships with unlicensed gaming firms that accept customers from Sweden. This process should be finalized by the third quarter of 2023.

This move is part of the regulator’s scheme to discourage gamers from joining the unregulated market. Recently, the Ministry of Finance announced a proposal to ban all credit card gambling payments. Finansdepartementet says this move will protect gamblers from unnecessary debts.