Kindred group will appeal the Norwegian Lottery Authority’s fine decision and continue to try to achieve success in the legal system, says Kindred’s CEO Henrik Tjärnström. However, until the process is settled, the company does not change anything in its operations.

As Dagens Industri reported on Wednesday, Kindred KIND SDB is facing a fine of NOK 1.2 million per day from 5 October since the company – in the opinion of the Norwegian Gambling Authority Lotteritilsynet – conducts unlicensed money gambling operations in the country through its Maltese subsidiary Trannel.

The permit issue is a process that has been going on for several years, but the threat of a fine to Kindred has now materialised with the penalty decision. Lotteritilsynet can issue fines up to NOK 437 million before a new decision needs to be made, the authority told Dagens Industri.

The market also took the news seriously and traded down Kindred’s share by 7.2 per cent on Wednesday, corresponding to an unrealised decrease in the company’s market capitalisation by nearly SEK 1.5 billion.

“We will appeal the decision of the Lotteritilsynet regarding the issuance of this sanction fee and will continue operating as usual, as long as the legal process is ongoing. We want to see how it pans out,” says Henrik Tjärnström.

“We dispute the claim that we have operations in Norway, that is also part of the legal process. We are licensed in Malta and believe that Norwegian customers under current European economic legislation have the right to play on foreign sites if they wish. There is nothing that sets Norway apart from other European states in that respect.”