Compliance Updates

Kindred Refuses to Stop its Operations in Norway

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2022

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Kindred Group is standing firm against the threat of fines against its Trannel International subsidiary in Norway.

Lottstift, Norway’s gambling regulator, warned Trannel International last week that it would be fined NOK 1.2m (€120,000) a day if it did not immediately withdraw its online gambling offering in the country.

The regulator warned that it would take its toughest approach with Trannel because of repeat offences, imposing a “coercive fine” based on its estimations of Trannel International’s annual earnings. It put those at NOK 437m (€43m).

Kindred has already seen through various legal appeals in Norway but it is standing firm arguing that it is not violating Norwegian law and will not withdraw its offer from the market.

In an interview posted on Kindred’s website, Rolf Sims, the group’s public affairs manager for Norway, argued that it was not illegal for Norwegians to use Kindred’s operators, “in the same way that it is not illegal for Norwegians to shop with eBay or Amazon”.

He also said there was a “flagrant incompatibility” between Norwegian law and European Economic Area (EEA) law. Norway maintains a monopoly system on gambling with state-owned Norsk Tipping and the private trust racing betting operator Norsk Rikstoto the only operators permitted to offer gambling products under Norway’s Gambling Act.

Sims said: “In failing to organise a transparent licensing regime and conducting a truly consistent gambling policy, we feel that the fundamental freedoms within EEA law are systematically being violated by Norway, to the Norwegian Government’s advantage.

“Ensuring compliance with national and international laws contributes to a sustainable society. This also extends to Norway. A comprehensive judicial review of the legality of the order issued in 2019 and the gambling monopoly is for the benefit of Norwegian society, consumers and vulnerable players.”

Lottstift has noted that Kindred’s website featured Norwegian currency and customer support and that the group had broadcast advertisements in Norway. It has carried out various actions against Kindred including IP blocks and payment blocks and banning Kindred’s apps from appearing in the Apple App Store.

A request from Trannel for Oslo District Court to evaluate whether the blocking decision is valid is due to be heard in May.

Compliance Updates

Department of Trust set to meet challenges of new affordability checks

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

Zoltan Tundik

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Department of Trust (dotrust.co.uk), the award-winning provider of financial risk assessments for safer gambling is poised to meet the challenges of the newly announced regulations on frictionless financial checks by the UK Gambling Commission and Betting and Gaming Council.

Under the new rules published by the Gambling Commission, operators have until August 30^th to implement frictionless checks on all customers making £500 net deposits in any rolling 30-day period. These frictionless checks form part of a new regime designed to protect players at risk of financial harm and replace the current ad hoc approach to affordability checks.

Department of Trust also welcomes the interim voluntary code published today by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the standards body representing over 90% of UK-regulated market operators. This code focuses on how responsible operators should support customers spending above the lower threshold set out by the Gambling Commission.

The supplier’s DoTrust Complete solution offers an integrated suite of frictionless and enhanced financial risk checks with a high level of automation capability -the only such tool built solely for safer gambling – and is perfectly positioned to help businesses navigate the newly regulated waters.

Charles Cohen, CEO of Department of Trust, said: “These important announcements flag the end of gambling’s ‘sus law’ where players faced seemingly arbitrary requests for personal information, operators were placed under a significant burden, and no one won

“We now know that in 120 days, every operator will need to perform frictionless checks on all players with net deposits in a 30-day rolling period of £500. A few months later this will fall to a much lower level.

“If operators want to protect their business, keep their customers and reduce costs, smart automation is the only answer.

“Department of Trust has spent over two years building the leading plug-and-play solution specifically for the gambling industry. Complete already automates over 90% of the processes required in both the new LCCP and BGC code. Now we know what the requirement will be, we are today committing to the goal of 100%. We want every operator and player to have instant assessments and sensible decisions cost-effectively. No one needs to lose sleep over this.”.

The post Department of Trust set to meet challenges of new affordability checks appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Argentina

Play’n GO breaks new ground with entrance into third Argentinian province

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

play’n-go-breaks-new-ground-with-entrance-into-third-argentinian-province

Swedish gaming giants’ games now available in the province of Córdoba’s newly regulated market

Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced their expansion into yet another new regulated market, as the Swedish gaming giant has agreed a partnership with Betsson in the province of Córdoba, Argentina.

Argentina is currently in a process of regulation for online gaming purposes on a province-by-province basis, and the partnership with Betsson sees Play’n GO enter yet another regulated market, keeping up the momentum from 2023 that saw the company expand its global reach.

This announcement sees Betsson’s players in Córdoba gain access to Play’n GO’s entire catalogue of games, including classics such as Book of Dead, Reactoonz, and Moon Princess.

This announcement is a signal of intent from Play’n GO, who reiterate their commitment to be present in every regulated market in the world.

Michele Stefanelli, Sales Leader, LATAM and Southern Europe, Play’n GO said: “Our first foray into a new region is always exciting for us, and we’re looking forward to a successful partnership with Betsson in Córdoba. Players around the world, and especially in the LATAM region, have already shown their fondness for our content, and we’re quietly confident that this new region will be no different. We are on record with our commitment to a safe, regulated industry, and we’re very pleased to see that approach rolled out globally by lawmakers and operators alike.”

Maximiliano Bellio, Managing Director Betsson Argentina, added: “We’re pleased to welcome Play’n GO to the Betsson family here in the Córdoba region, and we look forward to many years of success together. Like Play’n GO, Betsson is committed to a sustainable industry model, so this partnership makes perfect sense for both parties. We’re sure our players will be as excited as we are once they start playing these games that have proven so popular around the world, so let’s get started.”

Play’n GO’s games are already available in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires Province within Argentina’s federal system.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

OpenBet bolsters compliance technologies with the launch of geolocation product, OpenBet Locator™, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

openbet-bolsters-compliance-technologies-with-the-launch-of-geolocation-product,-openbet-locator,-powered-by-amazon-web-services-(aws)

OpenBet Locator provides a highly flexible, low latency and scalable alternative for global betting and gaming marketplace

OpenBet, a leading content, platform and service provider to the global betting industry, has bolstered its modular product portfolio with the launch of its new flexible and scalable geolocation product – OpenBet Locator.

Built on the backbone of Amazon Web Services (AWS), OpenBet’s strategic cloud provider, OpenBet Locator is a low latency solution that enables operators worldwide to locate, promote to, and monitor customers, remaining fully compliant with regulatory requirements.

The technology strengthens OpenBet’s reputation for market-leading player protection and compliance following the company’s acquisition of Neccton in 2023. With OpenBet’s regulatory reach and multiple licenses, brands will be able to ensure seamless and swift integration of its trusted and compliant technology into their ecosystem.

Initially targeting the North American market, the solution will feature a number of components, such as:

Fully flexible geo-fence management and high precision location tracking
Fraud prevention combined with real-time virtual private network (VPN) and location spoofing detection
Player targeting for customer relationship management (CRM), data analysis and in-venue promotions
Multi-tenanted solution that supports travelling wallet
Easy and flexible configuration options to streamline business operations workflows

The product is underpinned by OpenBet’s unrivalled expertise within the global betting industry and is designed to remove the friction of geolocation to the end-customer’s onboarding process.

Jordan Levin, CEO of OpenBet, said: “Introducing OpenBet Locator is an exciting move for us and takes our modular product offering to a new level. Built in-house and leveraging AWS technology, we have developed a strong proposition that can be tailored to meet unique business needs.

“As a pioneer within the global sports betting arena for over 25 years, we have an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities operators face within highly regulated markets. OpenBet Locator is a scalable, compliant and dependable geolocation solution that removes the barriers to operators’ success.”