{"id":218526,"date":"2022-06-23T05:29:53","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T12:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=218526"},"modified":"2022-06-23T10:22:32","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T17:22:32","slug":"kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf Wiedersehen to Germany.<\/p>\n

\"Kindred
Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjarnstrom in a company file picture. The global gaming company is losing its battle in Norway and also giving up on Germany. (Image: Kindred Group)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through its Trannel subsidiary, Kindred has maintained its Unibet platform in Norway as it fought against<\/a> the country’s monopolistic stance on gambling. It was likely a lost cause from the start, as it didn’t have a legal basis for its claim.<\/p>\n

An Oslo district court judge just denied its legal fight against the country. As a result, and without a Norwegian gaming license, its future there is in doubt. However, the Stockholm-listed operator has already announced that it will appeal the decision.<\/p>\n

Norway Not Playing Nicely<\/h2>\n

Kindred’s argument has been that the monopoly wasn’t fair. While that may be true, it’s still legal. However, against the threat of daily fines of \u20ac120,000 (US$134,000), it kept its Unibet, Mariacasino, Storspiller, and Bingo brands going.<\/p>\n

Norway’s gaming regulator ordered Kindred to stop its operations on April 5. Therefore, in theory, the operator could receive a bill of \u20ac9.48 million (US$9.96 million) as of June 23 for continuing to operate. However, since it is appealing the court’s decision, the bill could be higher.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In responding to the verdict, Kindred stated that it will “continue to dispute and will appeal as we seek to deliver a free, open, competitive, and safe gambling environment in Norway.” It added that a “transparent and objective licensing regime is the only way to obtain a well-functioning gambling market that balances consumer entertainment and consumer protection. We will continue to work towards this goal.”<\/p>\n

\n

The fight has been ongoing for more than three years. Finally, in April 2019, the Norwegian Gambling Authority told Trannel to halt its operations because it didn’t have a license. Kindred then appealed to the Ministry of Culture and the Lottery Authority Board. It lost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Oslo District Court then received an appeal, which it also shut down. As a result, Kindred’s next strategy was to sue Norway, which led to another defeat.<\/p>\n

Kindred Exits Germany<\/h2>\n

Kindred will likely have no alternative but to close up shop in Norway, something it is already doing in Germany. The company has announced that Unibet, its flagship brand, will withdraw from the country’s market starting July 1.<\/p>\n

The company informed local authorities that Unibet has decided to cancel its sportsbook and virtual slot license applications. It explained that Germany’s Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling<\/a> (GluNeuRStv) was confusing and convoluted, and didn’t lend itself to the creation of a responsible, mature market.<\/p>\n

Our long-term strategic direction sets out locally regulated markets as the core engine for our growth. However, license application procedures, license conditions, and the regulatory environment need to be transparent, sustainable, and financially viable for a market to be competitive<\/strong>,” Kindred stated in a press release.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kindred added that it decided to withdraw after assessing market conditions. That led to the determination that the GluNeuRStv application procedures and restrictions on products were “not sustainable and competitive” against unlicensed alternatives.<\/p>\n

The company views it as only a minor setback. It will now focus its efforts on increasing its North American presence. It will also dedicate more resources to assume “product control through the Kindred Sportsbook Platform and the acquisitions of Relax Gaming.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kindred concluded that there is no foundation for long-term shareholder and customer value. However, it left the door open, saying that it could reconsider its decision in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf Wiedersehen to Germany. Through its Trannel subsidiary, Kindred has maintained its Unibet platform in Norway as it fought against the country’s monopolistic stance on gambling. It was likely a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":218525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,33810],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T12:29:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T17:22:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/\",\"name\":\"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-23T12:29:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T17:22:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca\"},\"description\":\"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjarnstrom in a company file picture. The global gaming company is losing its battle in Norway and also giving up on Germany. (Image: Kindred Group)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gaming Business\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gaming-business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca\",\"name\":\"Erik Gibbs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Erik Gibbs\"},\"description\":\"Erik Gibbs covers global gaming news for Casino.org. His scope includes Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. Erik has covered gaming markets in Europe and Asia for the past six years. Erik joined Casino.org in November 2021. Erik has written for numerous gambling- and a handful of industry publications has quoted casino-related media outlets over the years and. He is always excited to bring a new perspective on what's happening in the gaming space. Erik enjoys following the global gaming industry, paying particular attention to innovation and regulation. Originally from the US, Erik has spent extensive time living in various countries across the globe. He enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors and exploration, although he readily admits that he would have no trouble spending all day fishing on a boat. He currently resides in Spain. Contact Erik at erik.gibbs@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/erik-gibbs\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org","description":"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org","og_description":"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2022-06-23T12:29:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-06-23T17:22:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erik Gibbs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erik Gibbs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/","name":"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany - Casino.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-23T12:29:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T17:22:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca"},"description":"Gaming operator Kindred Group is having a rough month. Its operations in Europe are under fire, losing an ongoing court battle in Norway and saying auf","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kindred-Group-CEO-Henrik-Tjarnstrom.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjarnstrom in a company file picture. The global gaming company is losing its battle in Norway and also giving up on Germany. (Image: Kindred Group)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kindred-group-shakeup-as-it-loses-norway-gaming-lawsuit-exits-germany\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gaming Business","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gaming-business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Kindred Group Shakeup as It Loses Norway Gaming Lawsuit, Exits Germany"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca","name":"Erik Gibbs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png","caption":"Erik Gibbs"},"description":"Erik Gibbs covers global gaming news for Casino.org. His scope includes Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. Erik has covered gaming markets in Europe and Asia for the past six years. Erik joined Casino.org in November 2021. Erik has written for numerous gambling- and a handful of industry publications has quoted casino-related media outlets over the years and. He is always excited to bring a new perspective on what's happening in the gaming space. Erik enjoys following the global gaming industry, paying particular attention to innovation and regulation. Originally from the US, Erik has spent extensive time living in various countries across the globe. He enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors and exploration, although he readily admits that he would have no trouble spending all day fishing on a boat. He currently resides in Spain. Contact Erik at erik.gibbs@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/erik-gibbs\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}