Profit before tax amounted to GBP 17.7m, while profit after tax came to GBP 15.1m. Earnings per share were GBP 0.067.

Gross winnings revenue from the Swedish market for the first quarter of 2019 amounted to SEK 207.4m after deduction of bonuses of SEK 137.9m.

The number of active customers during the first quarter was 1,631,636. “All-time high in active customers but, as expected, profits for the quarter significantly impacted by the new local licence in Sweden,” said Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group.

The CEO praised “strong levels of activity” across all markets and “all-time highs” for active customers and sports betting turnover. According to the CEO, investment in marketing activities focusing on responsible gambling in Sweden and football sponsorships in the United Kingdom were the main drivers of the results.

Swedish market reregulation leads to short-term margin pressure

“As anticipated for several years, the reregulation of the Swedish market resulted in significant short-term margin pressure, particularly in the first quarter. The single biggest impact came from all legacy and new Swedish customers being awarded one additional bonus under the terms of the new licensing system,” according to the CEO.

“The significant uptake on customer bonuses, especially in January and February, resulted in bonus expenditure increasing with GBP 6.6m for the first quarter compared with the same period last year. Bonus costs stabilised later in the quarter and by March, they were lower than last year with full-year costs expected to be lower than for 2018,” Mr Tjärnström added.

Gross winnings revenue, as well as EBITDA, was significantly affected by the Swedish betting duties paid of GBP 5.2m but also marketing investments increasing with GBP 3.8m, the press statement by the group says. “The total effect on Group EBITDA from the Swedish market opening in the first quarter was a reduction of GBP 18.9 million compared to the first quarter last year,” the CEO said.

Gross winnings revenue from mobile grew by 17% in the first quarter of the year as compared to the same period a year earlier, and amounted to 77% of the group’s total gross winnings revenue, while some 57% of the group’s gross winnings revenue, came from locally-regulated markets.

“For the period 1 April to 21 April 2019, the daily average Gross winnings revenue in GBP was 10 per cent higher (12 per cent in constant currency) than for the same period last year,” Mr Tjärnström added.

The post Kindred’s gross winnings revenue ups 8% in Q1 2019 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Kindred expects to strenghthen affiliate compliance processes through this partnership. Kindred will deploy the GiG Comply self-service monitoring solution to track affiliate activity and content for its brands. GiG Comply also offers monitoring over promotional content including text, image and banner promotions, the press release says.

Kindred hopes to benefit from the GiG Comply software, adding that it can protect its brands online in a constantly changing environment, helping them to remain compliant.

“I am looking forward to working with the GiG Comply product to strengthen our existing compliance processes and ensure our Affiliate activity is compliant and sustainable,” said Ryan Henderson, Head of Affiliates at Kindred Group

“We are delighted to have partnered with Kindred Group to support them to protect their brands and end users. Kindred is one of the leaders in gambling compliance and we share the same ambition for a safe and trusted gambling environment,” said Richard Brown, chief operations officer at GiG. “Our leading marketing and compliance technology will allow the Kindred Affiliates team to monitor and control affiliate mentions, alongside their existing processes,” he added.

The post Kindred to deploy GiG’s compliance solution first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The agreement is valid for an initial five years, with the possibility to extend for two additional five-year terms. Kindred (previously Unibet Group) will offer customers an online sportsbook and casino experience under the Unibet brand, as well as a Unibet sports betting lounge at Mohegan Sun Pocono, according to the press release.

“We’ve aligned with one of the best online casino and sport book operators in regulated online markets which will allow us to offer best in class experience to our existing customers as well as attracting new ones,” says Aviram Alroy, Vice President of Interactive Gaming at Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment. “Introduction of the Kindred offering to the market is a great positive for Mohegan Sun as well as the state of Pennsylvania,” the vice president adds.

“We are excited and proud to extend our US footprint into one of the largest US states to regulate both online sports betting and casino. Finding a strong partner who shares Kindred’s dedication to customer experience and values has been critical, and I am delighted that we have found just that in Mohegan Sun Pocono. I am confident that Kindred and Mohegan Sun Pocono will offer customers in Pennsylvania a truly great online sports betting and casino experience,” says Manuel Stan, Senior Vice President of Kindred US.

Mohegan Sun Pocono is owned by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and located outside Plains, Pennsylvania, offering services such as hotel, food and shopping, gaming and entertainment. By combining Mohegan Sun Pocono’s full destination experience with Kindred’s digital customer experience and data analysis capacity, the companies expect to create a “unique and robust offering” in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania will be the second state that Kindred Group has entered, following New Jersey. Kindred Group has vowed to keep investing in expanding its US operations where market conditions support a sustainable business model.

The post Kindred inks deal with Mohegan in Pennsylvania first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.