Kindred Appeal Loss Means It Must Prove It Has Exited Norway

December 13, 2024
Back
An appeals court loss for Kindred Group’s Trannel International has led the Norwegian Gambling and Foundation Authority to order the Française des Jeux (FDJ)-owned online gambling company and its rival Betsson Group to confirm they do not market gambling to Norwegians, or face daily fines.
Body

UPDATE 10:24 - Comment received from Kindred Group

An appeals court loss for Kindred Group’s Trannel International has led the Norwegian Gambling and Foundation Authority to order the Française des Jeux (FDJ)-owned online gambling company and its rival Betsson Group to confirm they do not market gambling to Norwegians, or face daily fines.

The regulator also said that it has asked the companies to show that they are not circumventing a ban it ordered on online gambling payments through use of affiliates.

Betsson has said it will supply documentation by December 16, and Kindred, acquired by FDJ in October, promised to supply requested information by January 10, according to Trude Gjeitanger Høgseth Felde, an attorney for the regulator.

“We expect them to confirm that they will remove any remaining marketing materials targeting Norway,” she told Vixio GamblingCompliance in an email. “We also expect that any future direct communication with potential Norwegian customers does not include gambling marketing.”

Norway remains a monopoly market, with only state-owned Norsk Tipping eligible to offer gambling under Norwegian law.

On any future affiliate marketing, the authority will hold the two companies “responsible for the entirety of the illegal gambling operations unless they have instructed its subcontractors in a manner that absolves it of responsibility”, Høgseth Felde said. 

To address concerns about payments processors circumventing the ban, the two companies need to present evidence that “all card transactions to and from Norway are correctly labelled with (merchant code) 7995 for gambling”, she said.

“We await their response before we take any further action,” Høgseth Felde said. “However, please note that DNS blocking will be implemented in the Gambling Act, and that Norway will start the process of blocking illegal gambling sites from January 1st 2025.”

Kindred's Trannel is eligible for fines of nearly 1.2m Norwegian kroner (€103,000) a day if it does not comply, up to a maximum of 437m kroner, according to the judgment.

The regulator had previously agreed not to impose the fines while the appeals process continued.

The Borgarting Court of Appeal ruled in October that the regulator’s December 2022 order stipulating fines can be enforced, upholding rulings from other courts.

In 2019, the authority first told Kindred to stop offering illegal gambling to Norwegian residents, and in 2021, it ordered Norwegian banks and payments companies to stop processing the company’s gambling transactions.

A spokesperson for Kindred told Vixio it had left Norway.

"As per 31 October 2024 Kindred has ceased to accept bets from Norwegian residents and at the time prior to 31 October, 2024 did not direct any marketing activities towards Norwegian residents. Currently, there are no open requests from the NGA directed at Kindred Group or FDJ Group."
 
"Following Kindred’s acquisition by FDJ, the new group reaffirms its commitment to operating exclusively in locally regulated markets, or in markets with a clear path to regulation," they added.

Høgseth Felde said the regulator is also examining “sources” that suggest Betsson is changing some brand names, adding Betsmith, changing Betsafe to Betsolid, and NordicBet to ArcticBet, while Kindred is using Boabet rather than Unibet.

It wants to see if the new websites are complying with Norwegian law, she said.

In court, Trannel had argued that in 2022 it had converted website pages to English, removed Norwegian flags and references to Norwegian krone and stopped advertising on Norwegian television channels.

Trannel also said it told its affiliates not to direct marketing towards Norwegian residents.

Betsson did not respond to a request for comment before time of publication.

Earlier this month, the authority said Tiergarten Marketing, operator of schpell.com affiliate site, had lost its appeal of the regulator’s cease and desist order, making it eligible for daily fines if it does not comply.

Our premium content is available to users of our services.

To view articles, please Log-in to your account, or sign up today for full access:

Opt in to hear about webinars, events, industry and product news

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Get in touch to speak to a member of our team, and we’ll do our best to answer.
No items found.