Kindred Group taken the decision to cease any services towards Dutch citizens as of today on a temporary basis. Kindred’s ambition is to be a sustainable operator in the Netherlands contributing to the Dutch society once a licence is awarded. Today’s decision has been taken due to recent policy changes in the Netherlands, on which Kindred will seek further clarification.

Kindred Group plc (Kindred) has today taken the decision to temporarily cease further services towards citizens in the Netherlands. The decision has been taken due to the recent policy changes communicated by the Dutch Minister for Legal Protection on 20 September and the opening of the market to licenced operators on 1 October 2021.

It is Kindred’s view that the letter from Minister Sander Dekker does not explicitly request operators to cease services towards Dutch citizens as long as the prioritisation criteria published in 2019 are followed. Kindred will now seek further clarification on the intention of the Dutch government and the KSA.

“The opening of the online gambling market in the Netherlands is a very positive step for all involved. We look forward to receiving our Dutch license during 2022, and thereby positively contribute to the Dutch society as a valued expert in achieving a sustainable gambling market”, says Henrik Tjärnström, CEO Kindred Group.

“We have always put a safe gambling environment at the very core of our strategy and operations, and already now comply as much as possible with all Dutch license requirements. We remain fully dedicated to consumer protection, preventing addiction and combatting fraud and crime. An important part of this is our ambition to reach zero per cent revenue from harmful gambling by 2023”, concludes Henrik Tjärnström.

Kindred is preparing for the opening of the Dutch licensing process under the Remote Gambling Act, and has been working on the preparations for a Dutch licence application, as well as successfully completed all required audits. Having completed preparations, Kindred will now, in accordance with the regulatory timeframe that it must observe, apply for the Dutch license during Q4 2021.

Kindred has successfully increased its profitability in locally regulated markets over the past years, in line with its long-term strategy. As long as services towards Dutch customers are ceased, this decision is expected to have a negative impact on Group EBITDA of approximately GBP 12 million per month against Kindred’s own forecast before any potential mitigation actions.