Harmful gaming’s share of Kindred Group’s revenue rose 0.5% year-over-year, posing a challenge to the company’s ‘Journey Towards Zero’.
Gross earnings from high-stakes players accounted for 3.8% of Kindred’s total revenue in the third quarter, up from 3.3% in the year-ago quarter.
Likewise, the group’s share of excessive gaming revenue increased sequentially, up from 3.3% in the second quarter.
The so-called “improvement effect” after the interventions also decreased sequentially, falling from 85% to 83%. However, compared to the previous year, there was a considerable increase, up from 65% in the previous year quarter.
Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred, acknowledged the quarterly decline, but was keen to emphasize that the group has made both internal and operational improvements. “We have not seen desired sequential development this quarter, however we have taken significant steps since launching our ambitious 2021 target,” he said.
“We have strengthened internal processes and aligned operations to continue our ‘Journey Towards Zero’ revenue from harmful gaming,” added Tjärnström.
Given this, Kindred admitted that reaching the zero revenue goal by the fourth quarter of next year will be “challenging”, but stressed that he remains “fully dedicated”.
Kindred wants to get even more out of Epik’s responsible gaming experience
To reaffirm the group’s commitment to the established goal, Kindred also announced the renewal of the partnership with Epic Risk Management. The group hopes to leverage Epic’s responsible gaming experience to reinforce manual interventions and “motivate customers to healthier gambling behavior.”
Dan Spencer, Director of Safe Play at Epic, commented, “I am delighted to renew and extend our partnership with Kindred over the next three years.”
“Kindred was the first operator we worked with and they continue to show their commitment to player protection, valuing the voices of lived experience,” concluded Spencer.
