Odd Molly founder Per Holknekt has filed a lawsuit in the Stockholm District Court seeking 10 million SEK ($987,000/£806,000/€962,000) in damages against Swedish game operator Kindred.
Holknekt has struggled with a gambling addiction for years, and Kindred-owned operator Unibet flagged his lawsuit, claiming precautions should have been taken.
In a 15-year struggle against addiction, Holknect said he bet a total of 55 million SEK and lost 26 million SEK on Unibet alone.
Holknet admitted to iGB that he chose every game he played, but said his addiction was still exploited by the operator.
Holknekt was bullish on the strength of his claim to iGB.
“We have a team of professional data analysts (thanks to GDPR), strong legal partners, and endless witnesses and whistleblowers from inside and outside Kindred Group and Kambi, so we are very confident. I’m going to go into this process with it,” he said.
“It’s enough so far, but we will strengthen it 24 hours a day.”
Holknet clarified that Kambi, which provides sportsbook solutions to Kindred, was not the subject of the lawsuit.
“I hope this is going to be a long process, and the time will serve our legal, PR and analysts perfectly. This is a case that sets a precedent for many others. We hope it will be directed towards an eco-friendly and humanely sustainable form of gambling.”
Holknekt is a well-known anti-industrial activist in Sweden.
Kind corporate communications manager Jamie Abbey confirmed reports of the lawsuit but didn’t elaborate further.
“We are aware of the reports and have no further comment at this time,” Abby said.
Kindred recently released its second quarter financial report. This indicates a sharp decline in revenue as the company was reeling from its temporary absence in the Dutch online gaming market.
The business is now exploring a possible sale of the company under pressure from activist investor Corvex Management.
