ShareOnline gambling operator Kindred Group could face a fine of up $42.7million if they continue to offer their brands in Norway, the country’s regulators planning to levy a hefty daily fine of $117k...
Lotteritilsynet (the Norwegian Lottery and Foundation Authority) claim that Kindred-subsidiary, Trannel – whose brands include Unibet, Bingo.com and various online casinos – are operating illegally in the country.
Having previously issued warnings, they now plan to hit the gambling giants with a daily fine that, in total, could equal the operator’s annual gross profit, believed to be in the region of NOK437m (US$42.7m).
Over the course of a calendar year, that works out at NOK1.198m (US$117,279) for every day that Trannel remains in the Norwegian market, with the clock set to start ticking in two weeks’ time.
“When a gambling company that operates illegally in Norway can earn NOK 437 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,” stated Henrik Nordal, department director in Lotteritilsynet.
According to Nordal, “Surveys show that six out of ten Norwegians do not know that Unibet, MariaCasino, Storspiller and Bingo are illegal gambling in Norway. You can lose much more money on these games than you can on similar legal games in Norway,” says Nordal.
Those games can currently only be legally offered by state-owned gambling operators Norsk Tipping (betting and lotteries) and Rikstoto (horse racing).
A merger currently underway between Norway’s three existing gambling laws, due to be completed by January 2023, has rejected appeals from trade bodies to also evaluate the state’s current monopoly on gambling.
Kindred, who don’t have a Norwegian gambling operator’s licence, claim they aren’t breaking any Norwegian laws by offering Unibet, Mariacasino, Storspiller and Bingo.com to the nation of 5.38million.
However, they have lost several court battles over the past few years, Oslo District Court finding against them earlier this month by rejecting their appeal of an earlier ruling.
Previously, the Ministry of Culture and the Complaints Board have both upheld or backed the Lottery Authority's decision, and now the ball is back in Kindred’s court, with potentially massive fines for not complying.
