Reimblad to exit as director of sportsbook at Kindred

Reimblad took up his current position in February 2021, overseeing the sportsbook offering at Kindred.

He joined the group in June 2012 as development manager of sportsbooks. Reimblad went on to serve in other roles such as head of sportsbook development and head of sportsbook product management and operations.

Prior to his time with Kindred, Reimblad had a short spell as product manager for betting and bingo at IGT. In addition, he spent two and a half years in various bingo roles at Unitbet, including six months as head of bingo.

“I will shortly be leaving Kindred for a new and exciting opportunity around the corner,” Reimblad said in a post on LinkedIn. “I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in Malta, the UK and Sweden. I’ve visited so many countries across the globe, meeting so many talented and great people who also have become lifelong friends.

“I am immensely proud to have been part of, and led, such an amazing team, especially over the last couple of years. Firstly, we managed to do what a lot of people didn’t believe we could do – develop a proprietary sportsbook platform. At the same time, we grew the sportsbook team to over 100 talented individuals worldwide.

“While I won’t see the full roll-out, it was a proud moment when KSP was launched in production earlier this year.”

Kindred set for transformational year

Reimblad’s exit comes in the middle of what Kindred has described as a “transformational” year for the business.

At the end of last year, Kindred announced it will fully exit North America by the end of Q2 2024 as part of a strategic review. It is also cutting 300 jobs across the business.

Meanwhile, Nils Andén was appointed as permanent CEO in February after a temporary spell in the role. Andén took the helm when Henrik Tjärnström resigned as CEO last May.

Furthermore, the future for Kindred could look very different after French lottery and gaming giant La Française des Jeux (FDJ) submit an offer worth SEK27.96bn (£2.10bn/€2.47bn/$2.68bn) to acquire all outstanding share capital of Kindred.

FDJ said that the deal would create the second largest operator in Europe. It is billing the combined business as a “European gaming champion” with stronger revenue and earnings growth.

Work continues on the proposed deal, with FDJ in February publishing the public tender offer document for the acquisition. This effectively kicked off an acceptance period, which will run through to 19 November this year. 

Kindred has “unanimously” recommended shareholders accept the offer. 

News of the proposal came in Q1, during which Kindred reported a 22.7% increase in net profit to £31.4m helped by cost reduction initiatives across several areas of the business. Revenue in Q1 was also higher, albeit only marginally, with the reported £307.7m being 0.4% higher year-on-year.

Historic Sweden fine reduced 

As for other recent developments and Kindred, the group last week confirmed that a historic fine for its Spooniker subsidiary in Sweden has been reduced for a second time.

Kindred and Spooniker now face a fine of SEK30m. Sweden regulator Spelinspektionen first issued Kindred with a fine and penalty in March 2020. This was in reference to offering unauthorised bonuses and lotteries without a licence, with a fine set at SEK100m.

In response, Kindred filed an appeal with the Administrative Court in Linköping. Incidentally, the court in July 2021 chose to reduce the fine, slashing it in half to SEK50m. 

The same Administrative Court of Appeal in Jönköping has now ruled that the fee should be reduced further.