Kindred “strongly disagrees” with Norwegian fine decision, to challenge in court
Kindred Group said it strongly disagrees with the Norwegian regulator’s decision to reimpose a coercive fine against its Trannel International unit and will continue to challenge the decision in courts.
In a press release, Kindred said that Malta-licensed Trannel had taken action to remedy issues raised by the Norwegian Gaming Authority’s cease-and-desist order from 2019.
It has changed the language on all sites from Norwegian to English and has removed Norwegian flags from its websites. It has also stopped all advertising and marketing activities in Norwegian and has ceased to offer Norwegian speaking customer service agents.
“Despite these changes and Trannel’s clear communication to the contrary, the NGA incorrectly claims that Trannel’s offering still targets Norwegian residents and has therefore decided to reinstate the coercive fine,” it said. “Trannel firmly disagrees with the NGA’s assessment as it is fully legal for Norwegian residents to access and use international gambling services, which are licensed in the EU/EEA area and offered within a safe and secure environment, Kindred will continue to passively accept customers residing in Norway.”
Kindred also pointed out that the fine is non-enforceable as the NGA does not have jurisdiction outside of Norway.
The U.K.-based group said it has applied for a gambling license in Norway as it wishes to be an active participant in society and to contribute via taxes. It stressed that a locally licensed, transparent market, where operators can work under the supervision of relevant authorities is in the best interest of Norwegian society.
The Norwegian government introduced a new gambling act last year that aims to toughen controls over companies offering services to Norwegians without having a license in that country.
