Kindred hails “truly interesting” Ontario market as license award confirmed
Stockholm-headquartered operator nets seventh North American license as market launch preparations continue
Kindred Group has been awarded a license to operate its Unibet brand in the soon-to-regulate Ontario market, the Stockholm-headquartered operator has confirmed.
The license award marks Kindred’s seventh North American license for the Unibet brand, with the Unibet app available on iOS and Android devices from April 4.
Kindred first submitted its license application in November.
Under the province’s regulatory framework, which operates under a “conduct and management”-style model, Kindred is required to execute a contract with iGaming Ontario, the entity set up by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to serve as a conduit for operators.
In order to qualify for the license, Kindred has had to satisfy a number of regulatory criteria, including a requirement to discontinue any dealings with any company or platform provider which might operate illegally in any other jurisdiction.
Kindred Group country manager for Canada, Amanda Brewer, hailed the award as an “exciting day and a significant milestone” for Kindred and Unibet in North America.
“We are proud to have received permission to launch in Ontario on the first day the market opens and look forward to building long-term relationships with our customers and partners,” Brewer said.
“The igaming market in Ontario is expected to be one of the largest in North America, which makes it a truly interesting proposition for Kindred,” she added.
Brewer continued: “Ontario is full of sports teams and passionate fans, which is no surprise given the history and popularity of the NHL, NBA, and MLB leagues.
“What makes Ontario unique is that thanks to its multicultural population, matches within for example soccer, rugby, tennis, curling, and cricket are easily found.
“There will be no shortage of sports for fans to wager on when the market opens on April 4. We are excited to provide fans with first-class products and experiences,” she added.
In February, CEO Henrik Tjärnström suggested Kindred would pursue a strategy of slow and steady growth in the US market, favoring an approach built on improving user experience (UX) over rapid growth.
Kindred has also pledged to make significant investment in the US market during both 2022 and 2023, as the firm looks to arrest a 22% year-on-year decline in its US revenue following a period of “tough competition” during Q4 2021.
A central pivot of the longer-term growth strategy in the US is Kindred’s transition to an in-house-developed proprietary technology platform, a process which will begin in Q1 2022, with a launch pigeonholed in the key New Jersey market during Q3 2022.
The in-house sportsbook operation will align with the Kindred Racing Platform (KRP) – the group’s racing offering which is already developed internally. A new marketing strategy has also been developed to further highlight this new platform to players.
It is however unclear if this US strategy, or indeed the transition to an in-house-developed proprietary technology platform, will apply to the group’s operations in Ontario.
Elsewhere, newly rebranded igaming supplier Light and Wonder has confirmed the receipt of its own license from AGCO, with plans to offer games on a B2B basis to operators from April 4.
In addition, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has confirmed it will launch a localized version of its WSOP poker games in Ontario under the GGPoker domain.