Game stopped after cheat allegations

Swedish state gambling operator Svenska Spel has said it is closing its Limbo game after it was reported that organized groups were cheating, winning themselves hundreds of thousands of kronor and making it practically impossible for small players to win.

Published: 24 March 2007 18:09 CET

The game, launched in January, offers prizes of up to 100,000 kronor ($14,000). The aim of the game is to put money on the lowest unique number between 1 and 99,999.

It was revealed in Svenska Dagbladet on Saturday that some players had been working together to guarantee winnings of up to 90,000 a time, ensuring that small players had little chance of winning.

Players are not allowed to bet more 60 kronor and are not allowed to form syndicates, but those forming private syndicates are punished only by losing their winnings.

Svenska Spel said on Saturday evening that the risk of syndicates playing Limbo had led to the decision to discontinue the game with immediate effect. Communications director Andreas Jansson said that the closure of Limbo would cost the company 100 million kronor a year.