Kindred Subsidiary Ordered to Stop Its Operations in Norway

Trannel International, which is a subsidiary firm of the famous online gambling operator, Kindred Group…

…has been ordered to terminate all of its operations in Norway.

Norwegian Gaming Authority also known as Lottstift found out that the company in question violated the state gambling rules and, because of that, is forbidden from operating in this country.

More Details on the Ban

Lottstift representatives said that Trannel has been illegally operating websites in Norway, like Unibet, Maria Casino, Storspiller and BingoLottstift.

Since Norsk Tipping is the only licensed operator that is permitted to offer iGaming in the country…

…Trannel has been clearly running their websites without a state’s license.

The country’s gambling regulator warned the subsidiary several times to be more careful with their operations, but the company’s representatives ignored it.

Trannel reps said that they don’t deny that they were targeting players from Norway, but that Lottstift does not have the authority to ban them from operating in this country.

Illegally Targeting Players

Since Trannel is fully licensed in Malta, Norwegian gaming regulations do not apply to its business in Malta, and it would challenge any ruling under the European Economic Area (EEA) rules.

Lottstift said that its regulations are seen as fully compatible with EEA rules and that they include prohibiting overseas operators to target players within the country.

That includes operators that run their websites and offer customer services in the native language, allow transactions in Norwegian Krone, have a Norwegian name, are marketed in the country…

…or set up their systems in a way that they can accept payment transactions to and from players in the country.

Now What?

Since Lottstift has evidence of these and various other factors, it officially banned those websites for illegally targeting Norwegian players.

If Trannel doesn’t immediately stop offering its services to Norwegian players, the company will have to pay a huge fine.

Lottstift will also regulators from other markets where Trannel or Kindred are operating…

…and will inform them of the company’s illegal activities.

A Word from Kindred’s Reps

“A decision that concludes that activities that are operated in another EU country, where one is authorised to operate, is illegal and goes far beyond the jurisdiction of the Gaming Authority. Norway does not have the authority to intervene against activities that are lawfully operated in other countries,” the company commented.

“Kindred Group is a company that is regulated internationally and is licensed to offer gambling. It is not illegal for Norwegians to play on games licensed from another country than Norway.

“The Norwegian Gaming Authority does not have the jurisdiction to intervene against foreign operations even if one chooses to accept Norwegian customers,” Kindred reps concluded.

Lottstift banned Norwegian and foreign banks from processing transactions to its site in February this year and the operator issued a lawsuit against the regulator.

Kindred accused the regulator of making decisions that are not theirs to decide and that they can’t ban them from offering online gaming services in Norway.

Source:

“Kindred subsidiary ordered to cease operations in Norway”, igamingbusiness.com, April 30, 2019.