Kindred brands boosted by Wazdan gaming content

Stockholm-listed Kindred Group has confirmed that each of its 11 brands will soon be boosted by gaming content from Wazdan.
The partnership, due to come into full effect during Q2, will see these games made available on 32Red, Bingo.com, Bohemia Casino, Casinohuone, Kolikkopelit, iGame, Maria Casino, Roxy Palace, Storspiller Storspelare, Vlad Cazino and Unibet.
David Robertson, Head of Casino at Kindred, said: “It is a pleasure for us to partner with Wazdan, expanding our games offering to our players across our various brands. We are a digitally driven business that is focussed on innovation, data and sustainability.
“With this in mind, it seems obvious that we would partner with a games provider like Wazdan, who shares our love for technology, innovation and pushing the possibilities to bring highly engaging and entertaining games to players across the world.”
Wazdan’s most popular titles include Magic Stars 3, 9 Lions, Great Book of Magic Deluxe, Magic Target Deluxe, Los Muertos, Valhalla, Magic Stars 5, Space Gem and Juicy Reels.
Andrzej Hyla, Head of Sales at Wazdan, added: “We are excited to partner with Kindred Group and expand the reach of our games through their various brands across Europe and the UK. We share similar values when it comes to innovation and pushing the boundaries of technology, and we look forward to a partnership that provides Kindred players with unique tech-driven experiences.”
The marketing of these games for a Swedish audience has been thrown into doubt, however, after reports surfaced that the country’s Minister for Public Administration will craft legislation that could involve a partial or full ban on gambling adverts.
Minister Ardalan Shekarabi believes that licensed gambling operators are not doing enough to protect vulnerable people, and that “dangerous games” such as those provided for online casinos should be limited.
Sweden’s regulator, Spelinspektionen, has issued a number of warnings to both affiliates and operators across the country regarding their customer protection measures and advertising strategies.
Recent figures released by Spelinspektionen have shown that Kindred’s Unibet is the top private operator in Sweden’s newly regulated market, even though the brand’s revenues remain some way behind the two former state gambling monopolies – Svenska Spel and ATG.
Kindred Group has admitted that the opening of the market brought about “initial margin pressure” in Q1, in which all customers were rewarded with an additional bonus in line with the country’s new licensing system.
The new marketplace is said to have cost Kindred an extra £3.8m in marketing costs and £5.2m in additional betting duties against the corresponding period of 2018. However, Kindred may not have to worry about these rising marketing costs if the government follows Italy’s lead to implement an advertising ban.
The commission tasked with determining whether to impose such a ban is expected to deliver its verdict no later than 1 October 1, 2020.