Kindred Group plc (Kindred) has published its combined Annual and Sustainability Report for the 2021 financial year.
The report provided an introduction to Kindred as a company and the Group’s year ahead and further into its long-term strategy.
Over the 2021 financial year, the company reported a revenue of AUD$2.281 million (£1,259.6 million), which was up 11% from $2.047 million (£1,130.2 million) in 2020.
The double-digit growth was “driven by the B2C business which performed strongly across both the sports betting and casino and games segments, and across a wide range of markets,” the report noted.
The company shared a number of highlights in terms of growth over the last financial year including the acquisition of Relax Gaming, which adds to Kindred’s product innovation and differentiation capabilities.
Meanwhile, the additional acquisition of Blancas NV ensures Kindred’s plans to solidify its operations and long-term commitments to Belgium.
Kindred Group is also continuing its expansion into the US following its recent launches in Virginia, Iowa and Arizona, bringing the total US operation to six US states, with further plans underway for the year ahead to also include Canada.
In Australia, the Kindred Racing Platform platform has been the driving force behind the company’s local growth.
Local sponsorship has also been crucial to their success, and their five-year sponsorship of the Sydney Roosters continues to provide strong brand awareness for the company, along with our partnerships with leading racing trainers throughout the country.
Their Australian team has also takes part in giving back to the community and creating a positive message by promoting mental health awareness with GOTCHA4LIFE, alongside the Sydney Roosters.
In addition, in February 2021, Kindred Australia was also certified as one of Australia’s best workplaces by Great Place To Work.
Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group plc, said in their report that they are also on a journey to 0% revenue from harmful gambling following their decision in February 2021 to become the first gambling operator to publicly report on their share of revenue from high-risk customers, with a clear ambition to reach zero revenue from gambling harm by 2023.
“Like the cooperation we have seen between researchers, authorities, and corporations to find a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, we advocate greater cooperation between researchers, authorities, and the industry to tackle gambling disorder. The reporting is a fundamental part of our sustainability strategy and based on international research,” he noted.
“It is a significant step for both Kindred and our industry, which is often maligned for a lack of transparency in this important area. I firmly believe that gambling can make a major positive contribution to our society and should only ever be a source of entertainment for our customers.
“Publishing our data will lead to a better-informed public debate and greater collaboration with partners and operators that want to join us on our Journey towards zero harm,” he added.
The report includes facts and figures, case studies, as well as ambitions and commitments within Kindred’s five sustainability priority areas: ‘Responsible gambling’, ‘Maintaining integrity’, ‘Running a compliant business’, ‘Being Kindred’ and ‘Contributing to our communities’.
The report also includes progress on the Group’s sustainability ambitions and commitments in 2021, and sets out new long-term sustainability ambitions next to the important ambition of reaching zero per cent Gross winnings revenue from harmful gambling by 2023. Kindred has also continued to work on limiting climate impact, entered into new partnerships, launched several initiatives in local communities and continued the development of its diversity, equity and inclusion agenda.
Tjärnström pointed out the strategic direction of Kindred and the focus on locally licenced markets and said: “Looking ahead, I see an exciting future for Kindred.
“Over ten years ago we embarked on a strategy to transform ourselves and over time only operate in locally licensed markets. In 2020 we took the decision to adapt the organisation for this future based on scalability, compliance and differentiation.
“In the final quarter of 2021, we derived 77 per cent of our Gross winnings revenue from locally licenced markets and have proved we can be scalable in these markets with solid bottom line growth,” he added.