Daily fines against Kindred to stop, says Norwegian Gambling Authority
In the latest twist to the ongoing battle between Kindred Group and Lotteritilsynet, the Norwegian Gambling Authority, the authority has decided to halt the proposed daily fine of NOK 1.2 million (approximately €120,000) that was to be imposed on Kindred for operating four gaming websites that they had been ordered to close in 2019.
Kindred said they will only partially follow the new directives laid out to them. ©Mark Konig/Unsplash
The decision came in the wake of Kindred Group agreeing to temporarily alter the operations of Trannel International – its Norwegian subsidiary – among other compromises that the company had to agree to in order to have the hefty fine lifted.
In 2019, the Norwegian Gambling Authority had ruled that Kindred’s operations through Trannel were not legally permitted in Norway. Kindred had challenged this decision with Norway’s Lottery Board which, in 2020, had upheld the ban.
Announcing the decision through a statement on its website, the NGA prescribed certain conditions that Trannel must adhere to for the fines to stay paused. Some of these conditions call for alterations to Trannel’s operations at the website level. These include the removal of all Norway-facing domains and disabling the Norwegian language option on websites run by Trannel.
The rest of the changes pertain to preventing the company from targeting Norwegians – such as the removal of all targeted ad campaigns in Norway, a ban on Norwegian language ads, a ban on accepting any new customers in Norway, as well as ordering the company not to provide any advice to players on skirting payment processing bans. In addition to this, the Norwegian Gambling Authority also stated:
“The Norwegian Lottery Authority also expects Trannel to inform its customers that the Norwegian Lottery Authority and the appeal bodies have decided that Trannel’s gambling offer in Norway is illegal.”
The statement also informed the public that the fines have merely been ‘paused’and the onus of keeping it that way lies with Kindred Group, who will be fined if any breaches are found.
Kindred Group Responds, Maintains Position
In a statement released on their website, Kindred Group responded to the Norwegian Gambling Authority’s statement by slightly disagreeing with the concessions that the authority had asked them to make.
The company said it still believes that it is legally permitted to accept customers from Norway under EU/EEA law, and that it will continue to ‘passively’ accept customers from Norway until its appeal against the NGA is cleared in court.
“Trannel International Ltd (Trannel), will continue to passively accept customers residing in Norway. Trannel maintains its position that it is fully legal for Norwegian residents to access and use gambling services licensed in the EU/EEA area, something which was also stated by the Norwegian Minister of Culture in a letter to the Parliament in 2021.”
The company further clarified that it is only making significant alterations to its international business. The reason it claims to have complied with most of the conditions prescribed by the NGA, is good faith and a specific vision for its future in Norway. Elaborating on this vision, the statement went on to say:
“Kindred strongly believes that a locally licensed gambling market where responsible operators can operate under the supervision of competent authorities is the best solution for local societies, for players, and for operators. Similar to what Kindred previously did in the Netherlands, Kindred has, as a sign of good faith, pro-actively decided to make changes to its international offer. Kindred are doing these changes as the company seek a constructive and transparent dialogue with Norwegian authorities and Norwegian policy stakeholders.”
The Legal Battle Thus Far
Norway has always had a strict government monopoly over the gambling industry, with only government-run operators permitted to operate gambling services in the country.
The confrontation between the Kindred Group and the NGA started in 2019, when the government issued notice to the company stating that the services offered by Trannel through Unibet, Bingo, Mariacasino, and Storspillar weren’t legally recognized. The authorities also warned of impending fines if Trannel didn’t exit the country.
The Kindred Group – based out of Malta – has always taken the position that its services can be legally provided in any country that complies with EU / EEA laws. As the legal battle escalated, the group had released a statement on their website in February 2022, clarifying their full position. The statement sought to elaborate on how the Group’s legal battle against the NGA was a larger fight against what it thought were unjust regulations.
“Kindred Group, amongst several other stakeholders, is in the front line fighting and working in favour of a long-awaited transparent and non-discriminatory Norwegian licensing system, equivalent to those in Denmark and Sweden.”
Another key aspect of Kindred Group’s position on the matter was that the government had only warned them of impending penalties – but in the absence of a court order or actual penalties, this wasn’t reason enough to budge.
This position took a blow when the Oslo District Court upheld the ban against Trannel and its subsidiaries, thus empowering the Norwegian authorities to act on their warnings and levy a daily fine on the Kindred Group. In a statement released on their website, the NGA had announced a fine, citing some moral and ethical reasons.
“When a gambling company that operates illegally in Norway can earn NOK 437 [€42.9 million] million from its illegal activity in the course of a year, we owe it to the Norwegian people and those who struggle with gambling problems to do what we can to stop the illegal business.”
While the fines have been lifted as of now, the legal battle between the NGA and Kindred is set to continue with the Group having appealed the Oslo District Court’s order in superior courts.
