Kindred will continue to block Dutch players

Kindred Group says it will continue to block players in the Netherlands until it receives an online gaming licence.

The Netherlands.- Kindred Group has announced that it will continue to block players in the Netherlands until it gains a licence to operate on the country’s new regulated online gambling market. It announced the decision to block Dutch players on the eve of the launch of the regulated market, initially as a temporary measure.

After taking legal advice, the operator has now decided to maintain the block until at least Q2 2022. It said it would apply for a Dutch igaming licence this month.

Several other major operators, including Entain, LeoVegas and Casumo, took the decision to block Dutch players after the Netherlands announced it would take action against not only unlicensed operators actively targeting the market, but also those that didn’t block Dutch players.

Kindred had initially stated that it believed it had the right to accept Dutch players as long as it was not actively targeting them. It said it expected the decision to block Dutch players would cost the company £12m per month in EBITDA.

The company said: “Kindred is prepared for the Dutch licensing process under the Remote Gambling Act, and has been working on the preparations for a Dutch licence application including successful completion of the required external audit.”

The Netherlands’ regulated igaming market went live on October 2 after a last-minute delay caused by a malfunction in the self-exclusion system CRUKS. Only 10 operators have received licences, but René Jansen, chair of the KSA, expects more applications to be granted by Q2 2022.