Legislation News of the Week: KSA Investigates Affiliate Sites, Norway Will Fine Kindred

The Norwegian authorities have focused on the Kindred Group again. The Dutch regulator has launched a new investigation in regards to several affiliate sites. In the meantime, the Swedish monopoly operators want to join forces to make the local market more transparent. Entain has expanded its range of services with new licenses in Germany. And the KSA reported several violations by gambling companies.

Kindred will receive daily fines in Norway again

The Norwegian regulator declared that Kindred Group and its subsidiary Trannel International would be subject to daily fines again. In response to this statement, the operator stated that it does not agree with the decision and will challenge it in the courts.

In September of this year, the regulator announced that if Kindred did not withdraw the Trannel brand from Norway, it would be fined NOK1.198 million (€113 930) for each day it operated in the country's gambling market. Kindred had three weeks to fulfill the requirement and did so. However, the operator also noted that this was nothing more than a goodwill move, and it still believed that Trannel had the right to remain on the market.

After implementing changes showing that Trannel no longer targets Norwegian players, Kindred hoped that its brand could continue to operate in Norway. But the local regulator has warned the operator that the changes will not help them avoid renewed daily fines.

In Holland, regulator investigates affiliate sites

Dutch regulator KSA has announced that it is launching an investigation into affiliate websites that attempt to target the most vulnerable gamblers. The thing is that these sites were created to circumvent legal provisions and offer gambling services to players who self-exclude themselves through the Uitsluiting Kansspelen (Cruks) system.

The KSA explained that the domain names of the suspected sites included the phrases casinozondercruks and casinozondervergunning, meaning “casino without cruks” and “casino without license”, respectively. The Cruks national registry was created so that addicted gamblers could protect themselves from their addiction. Such players can determine the period of self-exclusion and gradually get rid of their addiction.

That is why the KSA treats these violation cases extremely seriously. The regulator was already investigating similar violations of the affiliate marketing platforms in 2021. And back then, 15 sites faced harsh penalties.

Swedish monopoly operators announced a new collective initiative

Svenska Spel and ATG operators have stated that they plan to work together to make the Swedish gambling market more transparent and safe for players. Whereas Svenska Spel had monopolized the lottery market in the country for many years, ATG had a monopoly in the horse racing sector.

Until 2019, these operators competed with the gray market only. However, after the online gambling market was launched in the country on January 1 2019, competition from the commercial sector has noticeably shaken their position. Given this, the CEOs of both companies have indicated that they will provide more public reporting in regards to responsible gambling.

They believe that this approach will increase the transparency of the Swedish iGaming industry and convince many potential players that this market is safer than they may think.

Germany issues first online poker licenses to Entain

The German authorities have approved five new licenses for Entain, an operator that was already active in the local online gambling market. Two of these licenses are the first legal permissions to provide online poker services in the country. The State Administrative Office of Saxony-Anhalt has approved this decision. And it means that Entain's brands Bwin and Ladbrokes will be able to provide German gamblers with even more online money wagering options.

When it comes to the three remaining licenses, they will allow Sportingbet, Ladbrokes, and Bwin brands to provide iGaming services across the country. All five issued licenses are said to be active for five years.

KSA punished several gambling operators for violations

Kansspelautoriteit (KSA), which is the main gambling regulator in Holland, said that it has taken action against several gambling operators. According to the statement, two betting companies offered gamblers to bet on the number of yellow cards received during the World Cup matches in Qatar. Dutch law prohibits accepting bets on such in-game events, so operators have received warnings.

Besides that, another gambling company used role models to promote their services, which is also a violation. It was warned, and the advertisement with famous personalities was removed.

The regulator claims that all operators who violated the rules responded to warnings adequately. However, KSA seemingly did not want to damage the reputation of these companies and did not name any of them.

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