For almost 25 years Kindred and its brands have been delivering a proven and hugely successful platform for gambling and gaming. And we continue to do so.
Hard work from our teams and dedication to our business model are both significant and necessary factors for achieving this feat. However, though essential as foundations, it is only when they are viewed with all Kindred’s other business attributes that you can truly appreciate our accomplishments.
Close scrutiny will reveal that our platform is easily adaptable to local circumstances, preferences, gambling and betting traditions, and to regulation. This is, of course, based on our familiarity with all local aspects of gambling and gaming. We know very well the inclinations of the many-faceted gambling and betting communities in our different markets, and we have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the legitimate requirements of the national and local authorities and regulators. This is a practical, business manifestation of our heritage tagline: “By players, for players”.
"Kindred believes a successful business is about future-proofing operations to generate profit and value in the long term."
Building on this approach, Kindred has been able to grow mostly organically because we know the demands of players. And having developed our technology based on this knowledge, we have had almost no need to grow by larger acquisitions. Furthermore, based on our knowledge of our players, we have been extraordinarily successful in integrating the few larger acquisitions we have executed. I still have fond memories of the acquisition of, and merger with, Mr Bookmaker back in 2005. As well as being a great deal for us, that gave us our profitable and durable presence in Belgium and France, it extended our pool of valuable talent which supported our push for growth.
Our position in the market and our extensive and profound familiarity with the regulations and regulators in our different jurisdictions have earned us the privileged position of being the driving force in shaping public authority regulation as well as in formulating viable self-regulating initiatives for our sector.
Particularly as I will not stand for re-election to the Board of Directors in 2021, this is one of the achievements that I will most proudly take away with me from Kindred. Though I will no longer be actively engaged in the company I founded, I will always follow the exploits of Kindred and those of my wonderful colleagues.
One of the great things about Kindred is that our work does not stand and end with our services to our players and the regulatory policies we help initiate for an increasingly better gambling and betting experience for all stakeholders. We support the development of different sports, into which we channel resources through the fees we pay and licences we buy, and via our sponsorship arrangements. We also offer employment and we develop specialisations and technology for the benefit of many other sectors. We are proof of the ability to successfully act as a responsible contributor to society in a sector with many known pitfalls and vulnerabilities.
We do all this with sustainable profitability, for our shareholders and other stakeholders. Kindred’s success has been beneficial to shareholders, it is true. But more than that, Kindred has been a “workhorse” for society – we pay over double the amount in taxes that we pay out in shareholder dividends. To illustrate, since 2016, Kindred has, in its different jurisdictions, incurred GBP 905.2 million in taxes against paying out GBP 362.7 million in dividends.
That, more than anything else, shows how Kindred stands proud in executing corporate citizenship.
Anders Ström
Founder and Chairman of the Board
Kindred Group plc
