Month: August 2022

Holknekt has struggled with gambling addiction over a number of years, and argues that Unibet, the Kindred-owned operator, should have flagged his case and had safeguards put in place.

Over his 15-year struggle with the addiction Holknekt said he bet a total of SEK55m, losing SEK26m at Unibet alone.

Holknet told iGB that he accepts that every game he played was his own choice, but that nonetheless his addiction was exploited by the operator.

Holknekt was bullish on the strength of his case to iGB.

“We go into this process with a great deal of confidence as we have a professional data analyst team (thanks to GDPR), a strong legal partner and endless witnesses and whistle-blowers from both in and outside of Kindred group and Kambi,” he said.

“What we have so far is enough, yet we will work around the clock to strengthen it.”

Holknet clarified that Kambi – which provides the sportsbook solution for Kindred – was not a subject of the lawsuit.

“This will hopefully be a long process, time will serve our legal, PR and analysts perfectly. This is a case that will make a precedent for so many others. And hopefully direct towards green and humanly sustainable form of gambling.”

Holknekt is a well-known anti-industry campaigner in Sweden.

Kindred corporate communications manager Jamie Abbey acknowledged the reporting of the lawsuit but did not elaborate further.  

“We are aware of the press reports and have no further comment at this time,” said Abbey.

Kindred recently published its Q2 financial report which showed a steep decline in revenue as the company reeled from its temporary absence in the Dutch online gaming market.

The business is also currently exploring a potential sale of the company under pressure from activist investor Corvex Management.

The 3,000 square foot sportsbook features 12 self-service kiosks and three over-the-counter machines.

The sportsbook is set to open at 12:00 EST today (1 August), in a ceremony that will feature Qadry Ismail, former player for the Baltimore Ravens, BetRivers B2B services director Adam Glass and Maryland state Senator Pamela Beidle among others.

Read the full story on iGB North America.

The comments from Sky Bet come ahead of the upcoming gambling review white paper, in which some campaigners have called for a ban on gambling sponsorship in sport.

In addition, a report in the Times said that the Premier League was planning vote for voluntary ban at a shareholders meeting ahead of the release of the white paper.

The regulatory changes pondered as well as the accompanying public debate about football sponsorship calls into question the long-term future of the SkyBet-EFL deal.

Amid this environment, the operator highlighted responsible gambling as a key aspect of the deal.

Sky Betting & Gaming chief commercial officer Steve Birch explained what form the increased focus on social responsibility would take:

“In keeping with our well-established commitment to use these assets to relay safer gambling messages, we allocated more than 70% of this inventory toward the industry’s ‘Take Time to Think’ safer gambling campaign as well as encouraging customers to set deposit limits and consider other protective tools,” he said.

Birch continued, arguing the value combining technological tools with softer approaches.

“What’s more, we will be using these assets to continue to raise awareness of ‘TalkBanStop’ – a collaboration between GamCare, Gamban and GamStop that combines practical tools with support to help vulnerable customers stop gambling and kick-start their recovery journey.”

“Funded and supported by the Gambling Commission, this initiative brings together the important combination of blocking software, self-exclusion and ongoing support for vulnerable customers and is fully backed by Sky Bet as well as other UK brands owned by Flutter, our parent company and the global leader in safer gambling.”

“Our partnership with the EFL will also involve us both working closely with EPIC Risk Management, the leading independent harm minimisation consultancy in the UK, with whom we have a £1m multi-year agreement to educate players and staff from every one of the 72 EFL clubs about gambling-related harm.”

In November 2021 the Gambling Commission investigated SkyBet for self-exclusion failures when the company sent some promotional emails to customers who had self-excluded. This eventually led to a £1.17m ($1.44m/ €1.4m) fine from the Commission.