Kindred Group has released its third annual sustainability report. As part of this, it aims to have 0% gross winnings from ‘harmful gambling’ by 2023.
The Stockholm-listed company has also identified five priority areas that it will work on over the near and distant future. For the most part, these relate to responsible gambling initiatives.
‘Challenging the status quo’
In the newly-released report, the group’s CEO Henrik Tjärnström lauded Kindred’s ability to rise to industry challenged. He also shared his thoughts on how iGaming changed in 2019. One particular talking point was regulation within Europe.
His words were on this were as follows.
“We have seen regulatory pressure in Europe increase throughout 2019, partly fuelled by the stigma around gambling as an industry.
“This is challenging the industry to adapt to a new market reality in terms of marketing, community involvement and actively addressing industry specific issues. Kindred has always been a front-runner in this area, and we intend to keep hold of the baton in the race for sustainable growth.
“As mentioned in last year’s sustainability report we have built our business on continually finding new ways forward, challenging the status quo, and we are determined to continue to transform ourselves and the industry for this new reality.”
Back in October, Kindred made a pledge to help socially-vulnerable adults in the Swedish capital.
Focus areas
The five areas that Kindred will focus on are:
- Responsible gambling;
- Maintaining integrity;
- ‘Being Kindred’;
- Contributing to Communities;
- Running a compliant business.
As far as responsible gambling is concerned, outlined its desires to make gambling “100% enjoyable”. On this topic, Kindred said the below.
“For this ambition to be realistic, we need sustainable regulations that ensure customers stay within the licensed markets, more collaboration across the industry and improved technology.”
Tjärnström also added his thoughts on the ‘Contributing to Communities’ goal. These were as follows.
“In 2019, we derived 59% of our revenue from locally-regulated markets and expect this ratio to increase, a clear indication that we want to contribute to our communities in every way possible.
“However, to ensure local regulation works in a digital world, the share of customers choosing locally regulated operators – also called the level of channelisation – must be the ultimate objective in each market. If this is not achieved, the system will fail.
“Gambling is a form of entertainment in our society. It always has been and always will be. A customer who enjoys gambling and stays in control, and an industry which plays a fundamental part in developing communities through active engagement, is good for everyone. That is why a sustainable business is a good business and a valuable part of the communities in which it operates.”
