Swedish Court Revises Decision, Forces ATG to Cover Legal Fees

Several years ago, Swedish horse racing betting giant ATG sued Wrangler for featuring the former company’s logo on a line of clothing. While the court initially sided with the operator, it has reportedly reversed its decision.

ATG Lost the Lawsuit

As mentioned, Wrangler had, between 2019 and 2021, offered a line of apparel featuring ATG’s branding. These clothes were sold across retail shops in Europe, North America, and Asia.

However, the ATG brand was trademarked by the European Union on November 29, 2018. When the horse racing giant saw Dressmann shops selling the clothing, it asked the retailer and Wrangler to stop the sales. The clothing brand and the retailer ignored the request.

As a result, ATG launched a lawsuit against Wrangler Apparel Corp., LeeWrangler Sweden and Dressmann, arguing that the defendants had infringed on its trademark. In February 2023, the Patent and Market Court sided with ATG. However, the clothing firms appealed the decision to the Patent and Market Court of Appeal in the Svea Court of Appeal.

As reported by ATG, the Court of Appeal has now examined the case and, on January 24, 2025, reversed the initial ruling, effectively acquitting the defendants.

In addition to that, the Swedish horse racing betting company been required to cover all legal fees. To top it all off, ATG confirmed that this decision cannot be overturned.

ATG Says Illegal Gaming Is Growing

In other news, ATG recently estimated that market channelization in Sweden may have fallen as low as 71% due to Sweden’s suboptimal policies and the black market’s intense efforts to attract Swedish players toward their products.

As a result, operators called for urgent reforms, asking the government to address the issues, fix the current regulatory gaps and reduce the appeal and accessibility of unlicensed gambling. The Gambling Industry Association (Sper) supported the introduction of enhanced measures, such as blocking unlicensed gambling operators from accepting Swedish bets. Sper also promoted website blocking as a tool to safeguard Swedish players from illicit offshore websites.

Both Sper and Sweden’s National Audit Office (NAO) urged politicians to show “strong will” and adopt a proactive approach when it comes to tackling fraud.

Spelinspektionen to Address Illegal Gambling at Industry Seminar

In more recent news, the Spelinspektionen unveiled an upcoming industry seminar in Stockholm. Set to take place in March, the seminar will gather industry stakeholders and will have a focus on the state of Swedish gaming.

Illegal gaming is set to be one of the main topics that the regulatory body will discuss in depth. The Spelinspektionen confirmed that it will deliver a report on the situation and then host a panel discussion with representatives of the legal industry.

This announcement came several days after the Spelinspektionen denied rumors about a self-exclusion data leak.