Kindred admits challenge to reach zero as revenue from high-risk players climbs in Q3

Kindred Group has revealed that 3.8% of its Q3 2022 revenue was derived from the harmful gambling behaviour of its consumers, a 0.5% rise on the previous quarter.

In Q2 2022, high-risk players accounted for 3.3% of Kindred’s gross winnings revenue (GWR).

Kindred’s ambition to reach zero revenue from harmful gambling by 2023 has recently come under fire.

Betsson CEO Jesper Svensson argued that research has shown that around 2% of the population in most countries suffer with a gambling addiction and that zero percent is therefore an unrealistic target.

Moreover, the Stockholm-listed operator revealed the improvement effect after interventions decreased from 84.7% in Q2 to 82.6% in Q3.

Kindred Group CEO Henrik Tjärnström said: “We have not seen a desired sequential development this quarter, however we have taken significant steps forward since launching our ambition in 2021.

“We have strengthened internal processes and aligned operations to continue our journey towards zero revenue from harmful gambling.

“We will continue to improve our technology and processes so that we increase our efficiency and speed in detecting and engaging with customers at risk. We know this has a positive effect,” he added.

Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström: “We have not seen a desired sequential development this quarter, however we have taken significant steps forward since launching our ambition in 2021.”

Kindred admitted that reaching the ambition by the end of the fourth quarter next year “is challenging”. However, the operator revealed that it has identified four critical areas for improvement.

First, Kindred said it aims to shorten the time from detection to intervention as it was proven that “raising awareness to customers early on is an effective way to stay in control”.

In addition, the operator wants to continue investing in collaboration with researchers to further understand gambling behaviours, as well as ensuring control tools are visible, understood and used in the right way.

Moreover, Kindred pledged to improve “transparency and knowledge sharing within the industry, customers, researchers, regulators and partners”.

In Q3, Kindred has once again partnered with EPIC Risk Management to analyse and improve human intervention mechanisms.

EPIC Risk Management is a problem gambling awareness and harm minimisation organisation in the UK and the US, which offers first-hand experience of gambling-related harm, as well as expert advice on how it can be prevented.

Through the collaboration, Kindred aims to ensure that manual interventions are better placed and customers are motivated to adopt a healthier betting behaviour.

“I am delighted to be renewing and extending our partnership with Kindred over the next three years,” said Dan Spencer, director of safer gambling at EPIC Risk Management.

He pointed out that Kindred was the first operator that EPIC worked with and highlighted that Kindred has shown great ambition in reducing revenue from high-risk players.

Kindred CEO Tjärnström added: “We are on a long-term journey and our commitment goes beyond the end of 2023, but collaborations here and now like the one with EPIC are crucial for our future progress.

“They provide unique insights from which we can learn the best approach to manage gambling related harm from an individual perspective.

“We have always emphasised how important our work with stakeholders from research, treatment centres, and lived experience is.

“The collaboration with EPIC continues to highlight how these collaborations can help us reach our customers in a better way. I am grateful and proud to have this long-term collaboration with EPIC Risk Management,” Tjärnström concluded.

Kindred Group will report its Q3 2022 financial results in full on 27 October.

.