Kindred Group has responded to allegations by Dutch lawyer Benzi Loonstein that its Unibet brand has “deliberately sabotaged” customers from accessing account data stored on its platform.
The allegations form part of a legal challenge by law firm Loonstein Advocaten, representing customers seeking compensation from Unibet for historical losses.
In August 2024, the District Court of The Hague ruled that contracts between Dutch customers and unlicensed gambling websites should be deemed invalid.
The court determined four conditions under which customers could claim back historical losses, regardless of whether the operator had secured a Remote Gambling Act (KOA) licence and changed its contracts from 1 October 2021.
The decision saw Trannel International Limited, the Malta subsidiary of Unibet, pay out sums of €106,000, €38,000, and €77,000 to three Dutch claimants.
Loonstein has brought forward a new challenge against Unibet on behalf of Dutch gamblers. His law firm wrote to the Kamer, stating that Unibet had denied affected customers access to their account data, such as deposits and withdrawals, to claim back losses.
Unibet is accused of purposely denying affected customers their data and of infringing on the data protection rules of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as customers in member states have a right to demand all information stored on digital platforms.
The allegations caught the attention of Dutch Ministers Michiel van Nispen of the Socialist Party and Mirjam Bikker of the Christian Union, who have demanded that Unibet’s licence be reviewed over past infringements.
Addressing the Kamer, van Nispen and Bikker called on Legal Protections Minister Teun Struycken to launch an investigation into Unibet and whether its actions were deliberate attempts to obstruct justice.
The Ministers put forward a list of demands investigating Unibet, urging Struycken to uncover Unibet’s profits made in the Dutch market between 2004 and 2021 without holding a valid licence.
Both ministers have previously called for the KOA market to be dissolved, noting that Unibet’s allegations highlight the liabilities of the current KOA framework, which appears to reward previous unlicensed actors.
Kindred cited differences in GDPR enforcement between Malta and the Netherlands. A surge in data requests from Dutch customers was highlighted as complicating the process, stating: “The media attention surrounding these legal cases led to an exceptional situation last year, in which we faced a significant increase in requests from Dutch customers to access their transaction records.
Additionally, there are differences in legislation and interpretation of the GDPR among EU member states. For example, Maltese GDPR legislation includes different exemptions for sharing transaction records compared to Dutch law. To address the high volume of requests, we have adjusted our procedures. Customers always retain the option to view their transactions through their bank.
As of October 11, 2024, Kindred, the parent company of Unibet, has been acquired by La Française des Jeux (FDJ). The new company is fully focused on markets with local licensing systems. In line with this strategy, Kindred has divested its international operations under its Trannel entity, the holder of a Maltese licence. As a result, Trannel is now in the hands of a new owner, who is responsible for all ongoing legal matters and the processing of access requests. Due to this divestment, Kindred no longer has insight into or influence over how these requests are handled.”