Kindred Group to remain in Norway as regulator pauses daily fines threat
Stockholm-listed firm secures victory as it switches marketing materials to English language and avoids regulatory action
The Norwegian Gambling Authority (NGA) has U-turned once again after deciding to pauses its threat of daily fines against Kindred Group.
In the ongoing saga, the regulator has now deemed that Kindred’s operations in the market do not run afoul of regulations following a series of changes at the firm.
In September, the NGA confirmed daily fines of NOK1.2m (£98,902) would be imposed if Kindred, via its Trannel subsidiary, did not withdraw from the market.
The NGA then paused this decision in October, before moving to reinstate the fines in November.
The NGA’s original gripe, dating back to 2019, was that Kindred was targeting players in Norway and offering its services via a number of sites.
However, Kindred has now moved to change all of its marketing materials from Norwegian into English, likewise the language on its sites to English.
The NGA has now decided to drop the fines following Kindred’s decision to alter its market approach.
A Kindred spokesperson told EGR: “The Norwegian Gambling Authority has decided to postpone its daily fines on Kindred as it acknowledges that the company has adapted its operations in Norway according to the demands from the NGA.
“Following this, Kindred will, among others, not do advertising and marketing activities in Norwegian and has changed the language on all sites from Norwegian to English,” the spokesperson added.
Additionally, Kindred highlighted the Norwegian government had stepped in to note the operator’s presence in the market was entirely legal, vindicating its long-term stance.
The spokesperson continued: “The Norwegian government has however confirmed that it is entirely legal for Norwegian customers to use the company’s services. Kindred consistently works to operate its business in a professional manner, and fully according to all applicable laws and regulation.”