For the second time this week, Novatech has come under fire – this time, it’s the Swedish Gambling Authority, Spelinspektionen, which has hit out at the operator. 

Spelinspektionen initiated its case against Novatech for providing unlicensed games to players, with the regulator ruling that the operator would be immediately banned from operating in Sweden. It determined that several of its websites were targeting the domestic market without holding a Swedish licence. 

The regulator has cited player protection concerns as the main reason behind its decision. 

The ban follows an inspection conducted between 23-25 February 2026, during which Spelinspektionen reviewed a number of domains operated by the company, including qbet.com, mangacasino.com, slotexpress.com, 55bet.com and 30bet.com.

According to the regulator, players that were accessing the sites from Swedish IP addresses were presented with the Swedish country code by default during registration. 

The regulator also found that Novatech’s brands were promoted through Swedish-language websites and by Swedish-language content creators on video streaming platforms.

Spelinspektionen also attempted a hidden test purchase on qbet.com as part of its investigation, although the transaction was not completed. However, the authority said that Swedish players were not prevented from registering and creating accounts on the operator’s websites.

Under Sweden’s Gambling Act, companies must hold a domestic licence to offer gambling services to the Swedish market. The regulator said the overall evidence suggested that the Novatech-operated sites were clearly targeting Swedish players, despite the operator not holding a local licence.

Sweden has been fighting a long-running battle against the black market ever since re-regulating its gaming space in 2019. Offshore online casinos are particularly prevalent in the market, though the picture looks slightly better around sports betting.

Novatech causing controversy in Europe

This isn’t the first time that Novatech has been in hot water with a regulator – it’s actually the second time this week that the brand has come under fire. 

On Tuesday, the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) issued a record €24.9m (£21.5m) fine against the firm for illegally targeting players in the Netherlands.

In that case, the Dutch regulator said investigators were able to create accounts, deposit funds and gamble on several domains without restrictions, while also flagging issues including limited age verification and the availability of cryptocurrency payments.

Executives at the KSA said that the fine would have been higher – over the €100m mark – were it not for it being limited by Dutch law to fining the company a maximum of 10% of its global turnover.