At Kindred we have a strong commitment to water-tight sportsbook integrity, zero match-fixing and responsible marketing that helps to maximise trust in sport. We have a rigorous detection of suspicious activity, and education about a healthier sporting culture, accompanied by marketing that also promotes the principles of responsible gambling and player protection. All of which creates a positive impact for our customers and for Kindred.
Target
By 2025 we aim to have integrity enforcement covering all areas susceptible to deviations and risks, focusing on material compliance, and education.
High integrity means high quality
Sports-betting integrity is important to achieving a social licence to operate. Securing integrity in the sports industries and preventing match-fixing will lead to positive social outcomes. If the result of a sporting event is predetermined, then trust in sport is lost and fans become uninterested. These are not the conditions for commercial success of operators. Transparent communications and messaging via well-balanced marketing and promotion will support the drive to secure product integrity and company reputation. We ensure integrity in all our gambling brands, in sports betting, casino & games, and poker.
Our ambition – offer fun, fair and transparent products
Sports-betting integrity is a key element of our sustainability strategy. Match-fixing is a criminal act, and we are fully committed to fighting it by promoting regulated and healthy betting. To ensure trust, transparency and integrity we work closely with regulators and governing bodies to identify suspicious activities. Collaborations include Kindred Racing Platform, industry associations, as well as partnerships and sponsorships, supported by ethical marketing campaigns. The way these activities are run is subject to high standards of risk management to which we hold ourselves accountable.
As well as trust and transparency, product integrity is about taking forward the results of our intensive research and development, the integration of responsible-gambling tools, a secure platform free of cybersecurity risk, and a sportsbook marketing approach based on high-quality monitoring and regulatory compliance. Our Sportsbook Integrity team works closely with Kambi, our sportsbook data-monitoring specialist, to ensure we act swiftly when detecting suspicious betting activity.
In 2022, we reported eleven cases to the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) through Kambi, our trusted sportsbook data-monitoring specialist.
Collaboration is vital for our work going forward
We operate within a variety of regulatory environments in our efforts to prevent fraud and match-fixing. If a customer places a bet on an event that is suspicious, we will return the money. However, under privacy laws in some jurisdictions, we cannot provide customer information directly to sports governing bodies as part of their investigations, so we find alternative ways to help.
We know that certain amateur leagues, youth leagues and unsanctioned events, proposes greater exposure to risks of collusion and loss of integrity, and a greater need for more-careful screening. Therefore, in all markets, we carefully review customer trends, risk exposure and commercial viability of betting on amateur leagues and events. In addition, we offer all customers the same player protection as when they bet on professional leagues.
In 2021-22 we offered over 70,000 e-sports events to betting consumers. While e-sports are generally not exposed to greater integrity risks than other sports, they have grown almost exponentially over the past four years. We carefully review the specific challenges, such as playing remotely from diverse countries, internet connectivity limitations, or absence of information about planned events.
Driving change through partnerships
Responsible marketing
Our marketing and advertising align with responsible business principles and practices while still differentiating us. Responsible gambling, player protection and ethical marketing – including the prevention of minors from gambling online – are primary elements in our strategy to offer safe and enjoyable products that contribute to our Journey towards Zero ambition.
All our marketing satisfies regulatory requirements in our respective markets. We completed our eCOGRA audit 2022 relating to consumer protection. Its findings showed us to be fully compliant with the requirements in Europe. Central to our approach are the following fundamental principles:
- Player protection and alignment with targets in our responsible gambling strategy.
- Monitoring and accountabilities to ensure all marketing complies with applicable regulations.
- Customers who self-exclude from a brand will not receive direct marketing from it.
- Operating in line with the EGBA code of conduct on responsible advertising for online gambling and related social media content.
- Specific focus on the protection of minors via the EGBA due process.
- Careful control of affiliate marketing outputs.
Affiliate marketing
All our marketing is subject to strict control, so we select affiliates carefully. They are bound by our strict terms and conditions, including advertising guidelines. We use web-monitoring services to scan third-party sites continuously to ensure our brands are promoted correctly. We verify the individuals and companies that own and operate our affiliates in a similar way to our customers. Our Global Marketing Services teams ensure we follow all marketing principles and, we have the last years recorded no significant breaches of conditions by affiliates or influencers.
