Kindred Group’s Online Poker Revenue Rises by 18%

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 02/18/2020

Jerry Smith Staff Writer See Full Bio

Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.

Twitter X

Online poker proves to be a fast-growing vertical for the Kindred Group., Photo by Pixabay

Revenues generated from online poker rose by 18% for the Kindred Group in its final quarter (Q4) of 2019. Despite revenues from the online poker vertical of the Kindred Group’s business accounting for just 2% of the Q4 earnings of the company, it proved to be the most impressive and fastest-growing vertical of the business.

At a presentation the previous week regarding performance, CEO of the Kindred Group, Henrick Tjarnstrom, spoke about the positive results and growth experienced in the annual overview of the functioning of the group, pointing to the growth of online poker, despite other sectors of the industry having experienced headwinds that created obstacles to the growth.

In its year-ending financial presentation that was released earlier this month, the Kindred Group reported:

“The Kindred Group’s poker product is one of the fastest growing licensed poker networks in the industry.”

The Q4 revenue from the online poker of the Kindred Group was £5.8 million/$7.5 million. The figure is greater than what was earned by the Kindred Group in Q3, which was £5.2 million/$6.7 million, as well as more than the group’s 2018 earnings for Q4 by an impressive $1.2 million.

While online poker saw a rise in the revenue generated, sports betting saw a fall in revenue by 11%, and casino gaming saw a 2% drop in revenue with each year. Online poker has proved to be a big success for the Kindred Group, with revenues steadily rising each year, spearheaded by the popularity of Unibet Poker and its relaxed gaming approach.

In 2014, Unibet Poker separated from the Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) and established its proprietary online poker platform to regain network control and instill fun into the game, with a greater focus on recreational players from the very beginning, while banning heads-up displays (HUDs)/software that professional players could benefit from. Under the Kindred Group’s banner and working with Relax Gaming, Unibet Poker managed to set up its special platform.

The risk definitely worked – with Unibet Poker gaining in popularity and growing its number of casual players/awards, as well as new fans. Unibet Poker and the Kindred Group have also paved the way for other operators, such as PokerStars and Partypoker, to follow suit.

Kindred Group has also conducted the Unibet Open live poker series more than once with more than 1000 entrants participating in it, while its second edition of the Unibet Open live poker series saw more than 25,000 entrants participate from over 84 different online tournaments.

The online poker site managed to deal its 1/billionth hand, ranking among the top 15 most active platforms in the world. Kindred Group is set to continue experiencing a surge in poker revenue with its financial report looking positive, despite the temporary drop in sports and casino revenue.

Additionally, players like IDNPoker, as well as Asia’s GGPoker, are also coming up while making their competitors feel their presence. Another positive outlook for the world of online poker is even distributions of revenue generated, without it being subjected to a monopoly.