Kindred Group, the European gambling giant behind US sportsbook Unibet, has announced its intentions to withdraw from the North American market. In a press release, the company has confirmed it expects to “exit operations “ by the end of Q2 in 2024.
The decision comes on the back of a strategic review started by the Board of Directors on April 26, 2023. The exit from the US will serve as one of a few “cost-saving initiatives”, allowing the Kindred Group to redirect funds and technical resources to its “core markets”.
This will help the Kindred Group achieve three growth goals with its core markets. These include extending hyper-local online casino brands, reallocating marketing finances, and producing more exclusive content.
In addition to this retreat from the US, Kindred Group has also announced it intends to cut more than 300 jobs, including employees in North America. Other jobs at risk will include consultants.
Talking about the benefits of the moves, Kindred Interim CEO Nils Andén said, “We can now focus our resources and tech capacity towards strategic initiatives and selected markets where we see clear potential to grow our market share”.
These measures combined are estimated to save the Kindred Group up to £40 million (approximately $50.7 million). Andén commented, “The cost reduction actions announced today are both necessary and decisive. While it is never a desire to inform valued colleagues of redundancies, this puts us in a stronger position to secure long-term growth for Kindred across our locally regulated core markets.”
These measures may not be the end of changes at Kindred Group, with Andén not ruling out the potential of a sale.
The Unibet Sportsbook currently operates in five US states, including Arizona, Indiana, New Jersey, and Virginia. The Unibet Casino is also live in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. All of these platforms will be included in the shutdown.
