Kindred Group to remain live in Norway as regulator pauses daily fines

Kindred Group’s subsidiary Trannel will continue to operate passively in Norway following the Norwegian Gambling Authority’s (NGA) decision to pause the daily fines it was set to impose on the operator.

The regulator had warned Kindred three weeks ago that it would impose a fine of NOK1.2m (£100,016) a day for every day that Trannel did not cease operations in the region.

The original dispute started in 2019 when the NGA decided to ban Trannel from offering its services in Norway; since then, Kindred has refused multiple times to comply with the order.

Kindred has cited the decision to ban it from Norway went against EEA law and that by holding a Maltese gambling licence, Kindred said it could not be barred from offering its services in the country.

Kindred has previously brought the case to the Oslo Court of Appeal and the Oslo City Court, as well as the Norwegian Supreme Court.

Trannel does not currently hold a licence in Norway, but its Unibet, Mariacasino, Storspiller and Bingo brands are still accessible to players in Norway, and as such, the NGA said that it was operating illegally.

Kindred has since appealed the decision by the NGA but has proactively altered its international offering as it seeks to have a “constructive and transparent dialogue” with the regulator.

The NGA has decided to pause the daily fines but stated this penalty would only remain on hold if Trannel removed all Norway-facing website domains and the option for users to view the site in Norwegian.

Other conditions include for the operator to cease all Norwegian-language advertising or offer of advice on ways to get around the ban.

Henrik Nordal, director of the NGA, said: “We have decided to pause the compulsory fine of NOK1.2m per day as Trannel, which is behind Unibet and Mariacasino, states that they will comply with Norwegian law.

“The penalty can still be quickly activated if they do not meet the conditions we have given in the decision.”