Swedish Cancer Charities Fined for Unlawful Lottery Sales via Telemarketing

Investigation Triggered by Consumer Complaints

The enforcement action stems from a review by the Swedish Consumer Agency, which flagged aggressive and unauthorized telemarketing used to promote Datumlotteriet. In response, Spelinspektionen launched a supervisory investigation to assess whether the two license holders – who are authorized to operate lotteries for charitable purposes – were complying with legal requirements on operational responsibility, consumer protection, and responsible gambling.

The regulator found that both the Swedish Breast Cancer Association and the Swedish Prostate Cancer Association had failed to ensure the lottery was operated in a “sound and secure manner” with “strong consumer protection,” as required by the Swedish Gambling Act. The violations included:

• Insufficient operational oversight: Both organizations had delegated telemarketing to an external contractor, which further outsourced to additional sales agents. Despite this delegation, the licensees retained legal responsibility for the conduct of the sales process.

• Unlawful sales practices: Consumers were invoiced for lottery subscriptions they had not explicitly ordered. This violated EU consumer law (Directive 2005/29/EC, Annex I, point 29) and national rules requiring written consent for telephone-based agreements.

• Marketing breaches: The sales approach did not meet the moderation standard required for gambling advertising. Nor was the telemarketing carried out under controlled and secure conditions, as required by Swedish law. As a result, the regulator concluded there were no legal grounds to outsource the sales in this manner.

Financial Penalty and Follow-Up Measures

Although both charities have since ceased telephone sales and pledged to improve oversight procedures, Spelinspektionen considered the violations serious. It issued a formal warning and imposed a SEK 1 million penalty, which it deemed proportionate based on the organizations’ combined 2022 turnover of SEK 43.8 million.

The regulator emphasized that charity license holders are not exempt from strict compliance requirements. They are expected to maintain high standards of consumer protection and operational integrity, regardless of their nonprofit status.