Green Jade Games – Hammer of Fortune

Integrated into new title onto Kindred Group’s Unibet brand, this adventure slot introduces a player-driven symbol smashing decision plus a narrative that can be completed, meaning users can control how the game plays out.

The 6×4 slot is based around a story-line that sees Brin as the unlikely hero, tasked with saving his village from Gunnhild and her rock troll army.

Players move through the story to discover the central character and his friends Papa, Astrid and their humorous horse, Barrett, can defeat Gunnhild and save their homeland.

“Quality content is at the heart of our casino game portfolio and we are thrilled to have added Hammer of Fortune to the mix.

“Kindred Group has 11 brands, including the popular Unibet brand, so we are constantly looking for new and exciting content to offer to our huge variety of customers.

“We feel that Green Jade offers innovation within the industry that players are looking for. We’re looking forward to a strong partnership with Green Jade for many years to come.” –David Robertson, head of casino at Kindred Group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4BZT07zYU0

Playson – Super Burning Wins: Respin

The casino content developer’s 3×3 game, which has 5 lines and red sevens as the highest paying symbol, comes with new second chance respin mechanics, putting a fresh twist on the title, Super Burning Wins.

The respin feature is triggered when two reels are filled with identical fruit symbols on a non-winning spin, giving players a second chance at mega winnings.

“Super Burning Wins: Respin is a thrilling new game which is sure to get fans of the classic Timeless Fruit Slots series hot under the collar!

“The second chance respin gives players another opportunity to enjoy massive wins, and we’re confident this new release game will fit perfectly into our cutting-edge portfolio.” – Vsevolod Lapin, head of product at Playson.

Microgaming – Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx

Embark on a new adventure in Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx, the latest slot introduction by Stormcraft Studios and developed exclusively for Microgaming.

Returning to action after a quest for lost treasure in El Dorado, Jim travels to the mysterious sands of Egypt in this five-by-four reel, 35 payline online slot, which enhances to five-by-five reels and 50 paylines at key stages of the game.

Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx features Microgaming’s rolling reels and powerful win booster mechanics, along with a multiplier trail that increases during free spins.

“Jungle Jim is back and ready for his next big adventure! The team at Stormcraft are very excited to launch this long-anticipated sequel, Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx.

“With decades of industry experience behind us, we set out to create a beautifully crafted and highly engaging gaming experience, loaded with innovative features and great win potential.

“The intriguing story-line supported by Jim’s entertaining antics should ensure that this game becomes a fan favourite!” – Terence Igesund, Executive Producer at Stormcraft Studios.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2SQCBMI_Bs&feature=youtu.be

NetEnt – Reel Rush 2

NetEnt stresses that it has “taken the best parts of the 2013 hit prequel” and added a plethora of fun-filled extras and social gaming-inspired mechanics.

Billed as a “franticly-paced, 5-reel video slot with 3125 betways,” the title is set in a video game influenced world of candy, cube-shaped fruit and starry wilds. It features wild substitutions, re-spins, free spins and super free spins – as well as a whole new set of eight random features.

“The original Reel Rush was a frenetic experience, loaded full of madness and mayhem. Players loved it so much that we’ve turned the dial up to 11.“ – Bryan Upton, NetEnt director of games.

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The fine represents the first time ACMA has issued a penalty under the NSER rules. In addition to the financial penalty, Unibet has agreed to a two-year court-enforceable undertaking.

The undertaking requires an independent audit of the operator’s compliance systems and implementation of recommended improvements. Unibet has also voluntarily pledged to refund affected customers.

ACMA Unibet Investigation Uncovered 100,000 Breaches

ACMA’s investigation into Unibet discovered that the failure to close the affected accounts has resulted in 100,000 breaches of Australia’s Interactive Gambling Act of 2001.

The investigation discovered that 45 of the 954 affected user accounts remained open for 190 days or more. That includes many who had registered for BetStop on the first day of its launch. However, no affected customers could place bets during their self-exclusion period. Still, ACMA emphasizes that Unibet should’ve closed the accounts as soon as the individual registered for BetStop.

The investigation also found that the operator continued to offer services to 45 former NSER users using old accounts that should’ve been closed. ACMA discovered that these customers had placed thousands of bets, including one user who placed over 1,200 bets using their old account.

Regulators state that once an individual registers with the NSER, the operator must close that account. Once the self-exclusion ends, the individual must open a new account.

ACMA member and gambling lead Carolyn Lidgerwood said the breaches were a significant lapse in Unibet’s NSER compliance:

“Our investigation found very serious breaches by Unibet over a sustained period of time,”

“Taking in some cases 190 days to close accounts is clearly unacceptable and does not reflect the decisions made by Unibet customers to seek support to help them not gamble.

“The NSER rules are also there to ensure that people are making a clear and deliberate choice to recommence gambling. That is not the case if they can simply access old accounts.”

ACMA’s Ongoing Crackdown

The Unibet penalty underscores the regulator’s efforts to enforce compliance and protect Australian consumers.

Last month, ACMA ordered Australian internet service providers (ISPs) to block four illegal online gambling sites: Megabet Prize, Mega Meduza, TF2Royal, and Casino Intense.

ACMA began using this enforcement in November 2019. In a December 2024 update, the regulator blocked over 1,117 illegal websites. Between that update and the latest April one, ACMA suggested it had blocked just under 100 additional websites. The regulator estimated that about 220 illicit operators have withdrawn from the market.

Other consumer protection actions taken by ACMA include targeting video game skins. In 2023, the regulator warned online gaming firm Feral Holdings that its CS: GO Roll website constituted illegal gambling. The website allowed users to deposit “skins” (in-game gear, weapons) from the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive video game in exchange for in-game coins.

The same year, ACMA also fined Seven Network Operations Ltd for broadcasting a gambling advert outside the specified times during live sports coverage on its streaming service.

Northern Territory to Double Wagering Tax Cap

While ACMA ensures the removal of unlicensed operators and penalizes breaches of the rules, licensed platforms in the Northern Territory are set to face higher taxes.

Effective July 1, 2025, the territory government will double its annual wagering tax cap for licensed sports betting platforms from one to two million revenue units. Officials expect the change will increase tax revenue by A$13.1 million ($8.45 million) annually. The total gambling revenue is expected to be around A$145 million ($93.55 million), a 25.5% increase from last year.

In addition to the double tax cap, the Territory will impose a 50% tax on all online gambling, lottery ticket resales, and matching-profit services. Officials claim the move will level the regulatory playing field across digital platforms.

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The iPoker network becomes the first cross-border B2B poker network across the two nations, each of which is a significant regulated poker markets in its own right.

The network launch boosts marketing and revenue potential for operators in the countries, partly through large-scale cross-territory network partnerships and promotions. It will also significantly expand on the offering for players in both markets, with greater prize pools and more cash game tables.

Shimon Akad, chief operating officer at Playtech, said: “Sharing liquidity across major European markets represents a huge opportunity for the industry.

“This is a significant move forward for us, our operators and our players. The presence of six key operators as launch partners highlights the opportunities that exist, while also giving encouraging signs towards the future direction of the network. This move further reinforces Playtech’s position as a leader in regulated markets, as well as our continued commitment to poker.”

The shared liquidity agreement also allows for extension into Portugal and Italy, meaning additional operators could join the network in the future, potentially attracting yet more new players.

Playtech’s poker software is currently licensed in 10 European markets, with more than 35,000 players live across the iPoker network at peak times.

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The newly-named ‘Unibet British Open’ will take place in Cheltenham at the Centaur Arena’s famous racecourse from September 23 to 29. 

Snooker stars such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and world number one Mark Allen are expected to take part in the action, in addition to world champion Kyren Wilson and defending British Open champion Mark Williams.

Peter Wright, WST Chief Commercial Officer, commented: “We are thrilled to work with Unibet for the first time as we know they share our passion for sport. They are an innovative brand, always looking to help fans enjoy sport in a safe and responsible way. 

“The British Open is an outstanding event on our calendar and the line-up is incredibly strong. It will be an exciting week in Cheltenham, and we look forward to working alongside Unibet.”

With 128 players taking part in total, the Unibet British Open qualifiers will begin from July 31 to August 3 in Leicester. Winners will advance to the final stages in Cheltenham, where they will be joined by the top 16 seeds.

Being a title sponsor of the British Open provides Unibet with a platform to enhance its exposure across snooker, being one of the most historically recognised tournaments in the sport, first held in 1985 and being televised on ITV. 

The tournament is known for its FA Cup-style random draw for all rounds, aiming to bring potential high-stakes clashes between the sport’s best players from the first round onwards.

Sam Mead, Unibet’s General Manager, added: “We are proud to be the lead partner for snooker’s British Open and cannot wait to be part of this thrilling event in Cheltenham. 

“This tournament, with its rich history and stellar lineup, is the perfect platform for us to showcase our commitment to the sport. The world’s best players will be in attendance with the matches broadcast on ITV and internationally, ensuring a well-watched and exciting Unibet British Open.”

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The two-year partnership kicks off at the 2024 PFL Europe Paris event on Thursday, March 7 live from Accor Arena. PFL and UNIBET previously partnered at PFL Europe’s Paris event in 2023, which became the biggest MMA event in French TV history. 

Neil Banbury, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer, Kindred Group, said: “It is always Kindred’s ambition to partner with ambitious, forward-looking sports organisations. The speed of PFL’s growth and its undoubted potential made this an easy choice from our perspective. We can’t wait to support the PFL on its evolution, and we’re counting down the days until our partnership officially begins.”

PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. 

“The PFL is proud to partner with UNIBET, the leading sportsbook for mixed martial arts across Europe,” said PFL SVP of International, James Frewin. “PFL Europe and UNIBET share many synergies, and we’re excited to provide fans across the UK and France an opportunity to enjoy a premium gaming experience.”

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Through the deal, Kindred’s Unibet brand will receive Optimove’s CRM marketing services – a solution suite which includes email, mobile, and SMS marketing channels – increasing the operator’s operational efficiencies.

The solution offers capabilities such as the delivery of personalised experiences, access to unified customer profiles, multichannel personalisation and orchestration, as well as a continuous optimisation loop.

“Kindred is a true leader in igaming committed to delivering an exceptional customer experience to their players,” commented Motti Colman, VP of Revenue, Gaming at Optimove. 

“This partnership forms a powerful alliance, and we are honoured to have been selected. We appreciate Kindred’s confidence in our ability. We are excited that our combined efforts in the upcoming years will be revolutionary, propelling Kindred and igaming marketing into a new era of growth.”

Unibet will use Optimove’s digital experience platform Opti-X to create personalised player experiences with “dynamic content across owned properties and channels using ready-to-go widgets” on their website and app by combining business rules with over 20 AI models.

Unified customer profiles are achieved by bringing together “all historical, predictive, and real-time customer data from sources such as CRM, service clouds, and data warehouses” to produce a “comprehensive single customer view” for CRM marketing teams.    

Optimove’s AI-mapped CRM Journeys will allow Kindred to deliver personalised customer communications across multiple channels, while productised experimentation tools will help the operator measure each campaign to continuously optimise CRM marketing performance.

Dan Gabay, Director of Retention Marketing at Kindred, added: “With Optimove as the trusted CRM Marketing leader, we are confident they will contribute to our ongoing efforts to enhance players’ experiences.

“Optimove will assist us in delivering personalised and timely customer messages that align with the speed of player interactions with our sports content and casino gaming.”

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It comes following accusations that Kindred Group “fed his gambling addiction, which spiralled out of control”.

Prior to the lawsuit, Holknekt admitted to Swedish media that he had “wasted a total of SEK 100m (£8.7m) on 30 different online gambling companies”.

Kindred brands were revealed as Holknekt’s preferred choice, in which he claims to have “lost over SEK 26m (€2.3m) on Unibet alone”.

Last summer, Holknekt filed legal proceedings against Kindred in which he sought SEK 10m (€1m) in damages.

A campaigner for Swedish gambling reforms, Holknekt told the media that he had worked with data experts to provide the court with a lengthy list of control deficiencies and irregularities in how he believes Kindred exploits gambling addiction and its shortcomings on money laundering duties.

Swedish media report that the claims made by Holknekt against Kindred took place prior to Sweden’s new Gambling Act being sanctioned in 2019.

Kindred Group acknowledges the legal proceedings but has chosen not to comment or make any statements regarding the lawsuit.

Customer liability has come to the forefront of Swedish gambling’s agenda. In December, the Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal ordered Betsson AB to pay SEK 5.8m (€600,000) to a former customer for “aggravating his mental illness”.

The court ruled that Betsson had targeted the “customer suffering from mental illness” with “aggressive marketing offers” and that Betsson employees had encouraged him to continue to gamble.

Mirroring Kindred’s lawsuit, Betsson’s infringements took place prior to the Swedish Gambling Act of 2018.

In 2024, the Swedish government will implement new online gambling amendments from 1 April 2024, enhancing consumer protections and increasing fines for AML infringements.

From the set date, online gambling licensees will be required to assess and analyse data concerning a player’s health and financial status, deemed necessary to “protect consumers from excessive gambling”.

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Through the deal, titles from Bragg Studios and the Powered by Bragg portfolio will be made available to UK players via Unibet.co.uk, including games such as Fairy Dust, Dreamy Genie and Egyptian Magic from Atomic Slot Lab.

“Having seen the way our product is expertly handled and taken to market by Unibet in other regions, going live in the UK with its popular platform there was an easy decision,” commented Lara Falzon, President and Chief Operating Officer at Bragg Gaming Group.

“Unibet.co.uk offers us further market penetration of the highest quality and is a significant boost to our interest in the largest market in Europe.”

Bragg’s partnership with Unibet in the UK is an expansion of existing collaborations with the Kindred operator in other markets across the globe.

Earlier this year, the igaming provider went live with its titles in the UK market via a deal with Kindred’s igaming brand, 32Red.

Gareth Jennings, Head of RNG Casino at Kindred Group, added: “We’re used to the level of quality we get from Bragg games and they will be a very welcome addition to our lobby in the UK as they have been elsewhere.

“It’s the continuation of a fruitful partnership and it’s been a pleasure working with Bragg to get the launch completed.”

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Through the deal, Kindred will bring White Hat Studios’ entire portfolio of titles to the Unibet online casino platform in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Miranda McPhail, Product VP at Kindred Group, stated: “Having recently launched our Kindred Platform in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we now have the technology and tools to allow us to expand our partnerships and be laser focussed on our content.

“Delivering players the most entertaining and varied portfolio of titles is key to our expansion plans in the US and partnering with White Hat Studios will deliver on this.

“The company’s titles have won numerous awards and have quickly established a loyal fan base that has solidified it as a brand within the US gambling industry zeitgeist. We are excited to be welcoming White Hat Studios onto Unibet across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.”

Games such as Almighty Buffalo Megaways will be made available to Unibet players in the Garden State and in the Keystone State, as well as the Jackpot Royale jackpot system and a range of table games.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Kindred Group,” added Daniel Lechner, VP of Sales & Marketing at White Hat Studios.

“Its prominent market position in various jurisdictions around the world makes it a key player across the gaming sector and specifically within the rapidly expanding US market.

“Our high quality, engaging titles will boost both player acquisition and retention and we look forward to seeing Unibet’s players’ reception to our releases across the two states involved in the deal.”

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According to the media group, Stockholm-traded Kindred has been exploring potential divestment options with Morgan Stanely, PJT Partners Inc and Canaccord Genuity Group. If accurate, the 32Red and Unibet operator could have a new owner sooner than expected.

The business news outlet further asserts that Kindred has approached fellow European firms Entain, Flutter Entertainment and Evolution, as well as US entertainment giant MGM Resorts International.

A potential merger or sale of Kindred has been on the agenda since the publication of the firm’s Q1 trading results in April 2023. The company stated at the time that it would evaluate options as it seeks alternative sources of revenue.

The announcement came around a month before the raft of departures from the operator’s senior leadership. Chief Financial Officer Johan Wilsby was the first to announce his exit from the group, planned for later this year.

The most significant move was the confirmation that CEO Henrik Tjärnström would step down after 14 years with Kindred, replaced by Nils Andén as interim CEO. Andén will now be responsible for coordinating any merger or sale negotiations and processes, as well as achieving the company’s 2023 targets.

Lastly, upon completion of an operational review, it was announced that Chief Marketing Officer Elen Barber and Chief Commercial Officer Anne-Jaap Snijders would step down in Autumn. Kindred stressed that this was unrelated to the departure of Tjärnström.

In the weeks since, Anders Ström – who founded Unibet Group, prior to its rebranding as Kindred – has argued that a merger or sale is the best course of action for Kindred, which he said is ‘too small to survive’.

It is unclear which areas of Kindred’s business the aforementioned prospective suitors would be interested in. Entain and Flutter have been no strangers to M&A in recent years, with the former having bought out the ikes of SuperSport and Sportsflare, among others, and the latter purchasing Sisal.

However, both have extensive betting and gaming holdings across various markets, including many where Kindred’s Unibet and 32Red are active, so it’s hard to say whether the FTSE100 firms would be interested in either brand.

Meanwhile, in the US, American firms purchasing established European bookmakers is also not an unusual phenomenon. Caesars Entertainment’s purchasing of William Hill in 2021 to strengthen its standing in the growing US online betting space is perhaps the best example of this.

As Kindred has launched its proprietary tech in New Jersey and secured a tribal casino sportsbook partnership in Washington, and MGM has previously expressed interest in purchasing European giant Entain, there could be potential here should Bloomberg’s reports prove accurate later this year.

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