Kindred Group

Kindred Group (formerly Unibet Group Plc) is an online gambling operator which consists of nine brands, among them Unibet, Maria Casino, Vlad Cazino and 32Red. The Group offer products such as online casino, online poker, online bingo, and sports betting. The company is registered in Malta, but also has major hub offices in Gibraltar, London, Stockholm and the US in addition to smaller satellite offices across Europe and Australia. Kindred Group was a publicly listed company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (Nasdaq) until a cash buyout by La francaise des Jeux (FDJ) in October 2024.[2]

History

In 2011 Unibet was awarded one of 48 licenses for the newly re-regulated Danish market.[3]

In 2012 Unibet acquired Bet24, a Danish online bookmaker.[4]

On 3 December 2013 Unibet announced that it was moving its poker operation away from the MPN network to offer a standalone poker site.[5]

Controversies and regulatory actions

United Kingdom

In March 2023, the UK Gambling Commission fined Kindred subsidiaries 32Red Limited and Platinum Gaming Limited a combined £7.1 million for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings, and issued both with official warnings.[20][21]

Norway

Norway’s gambling authority Lotteritilsynet imposed a coercive fine of NOK 1.198 million per day in September 2022 against Kindred’s Malta-licensed subsidiary Trannel International unless it ceased offering online gambling to Norwegian residents; the fine was to continue until Trannel’s estimated annual gross profit in Norway was reached or the company withdrew.[22] Following a protracted legal and regulatory dispute, Lotteritilsynet stated in September 2023 that “the company behind Unibet” would withdraw from the country.[23] The regulator had earlier paused and restarted the daily fines over 2022-2023 as Trannel adjusted its posture pending appeals.[24]

Sweden

Kindred’s Swedish subsidiary Spooniker Ltd received a SEK 100 million sanction fee in 2020 for violations of Sweden’s bonus rules; the amount was reduced on appeal - first to SEK 50 million and later to SEK 30 million by the Administrative Court of Appeal in May 2024.[25][26] In May 2025, the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) issued Spooniker a further warning and a SEK 10 million penalty for deficiencies in customer due diligence and anti-money-laundering controls identified in a follow-up review.[27]

Netherlands

On 18 December 2024, the Dutch gambling regulator Kansspelautoriteit fined Optdeck Service Limited, operator of Kindred’s Unibet in the Netherlands, €400,000 for allowing players listed in the national self-exclusion register Cruks to register and gamble during late 2022 and early 2023. KSA also published the underlying sanction decision.[28][29][30]

Denmark

In December 2021 and February 2022, Denmark’s gambling authority Spillemyndigheden issued orders and warnings to Unibet (Denmark) Limited for breaches of customer due diligence and anti-money-laundering requirements, citing failures to obtain sufficient source-of-funds information and to investigate high-risk activity.[31][32]

type	Public
founder	Anders Ström
key people	Nils Anden (CEO)
industry	Online gambling
successor	FDJ United
revenue	£751.4 million (2017)‡R1R‡
num employees	2348
foundation	1997
location	Malta
locations	Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Italy, Malta, Sweden, UK, Romania
homepage	http://www.kindredgroup.com