The Stockholm District Court has ruled in favour of Kindred Group in a lawsuit filed by Per Holknekt, an entrepreneur and fashion designer. As plaintiff, Holknekt asked for SEK10 million in damages but now has to pay SEK2 million to cover all court expenses.
Holknekt Has Been Struggling With Gambling Addiction
Holknekt filed a lawsuit against Kindred and Spooniker on July 25, 2022. The document had 25 pages and noted that Holknekt developed a gambling addiction, which was fueled by Kindred. According to the lawsuit, Kindred didn’t take any action to protect him.
The District Court stated that the gambling company ignored Holknekt and through several actions ended up “worsened his financial situation.” The 62-year-old explained in the lawsuit that he spent over SEK55.5 million gambling at Unibet only between 2005 and 2019. Unibet Sweden is a subsidiary of Kindred.
Then Holknekt went on to say that even though Kindred knew that he was wagering and losing millions, they exploited him and lured him to gamble even more.
But it didn’t stop there. Holknekt did not sue them for gambling addiction only. He tried to draw attention from the banks that continued to invest in gambling companies. As such, his lawsuit claimed that there are lack of regulations regarding player control and money laundering.
Kindred Came Out Victorious, But Its Competitor Had a Different Outcome
Once the lawsuit was filed, Kindred responded by denying all accusations. The gambling company noted back then that they did not acknowledge the gambling addiction accusation. According to Kindred, Holknekt’s business during his time gambling was doing pretty well.
In addition, Holknekt opened up a new company, released an autobiography and was a guest on radio broadcasts.
The final verdict by the Stockholm District Court stated that there weren’t any indications of Kindred profiting off Holknekt illegally. Moreover, the court noted that it’s uncertain whether Swedish laws should apply to Kindred because the operator is registered in Malta.
Kindred’s competitor, Betsson, didn’t have the same outcome, though. At the end of 2023, a customer filed a lawsuit against Betsson and claimed that the company had extensive marketing campaigns even though he was a problem gambler.
The individual’s lawsuit had all of his historic spend, plus additional damages. The Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal ended up ruling in favour of the plaintiff and Betsson had to pay SEK5.8 million due to responsible gambling failures.
Betsson announced that it has the right to appeal the decision and will do so. Roland Glasfors, the vice president of communications and investor relations at Bettson, stated that they’ve analysed the ruling and don’t agree with the “reasoning and conclusions in the judgment.”
Moreover, Dagens Industry, a Swedish financial publication, stated that the ruling could turn out to be a problem for Betsson. It stated that this may attract other players to ask for damages and that could cost the company hundreds of millions of Kronas. Betsson’s biggest problem was the fact that the events from the lawsuit took place in 2019 when the market in Sweden was grey and the company didn’t have a local licence.
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