Stockholm-listed gaming operator Kindred Group has been awarded a direct market access mobile sports betting permit by the Virginia Lottery.
The direct permit allows Kindred to offer online sports betting to players in the Commonwealth of Virginia without partnering with major league sports franchises, and marks Kindred’s fourth US launch under the Unibet brand after New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana.
“We are excited to add Virginia to the growing list of states that Unibet and Kindred Group call home as we continue our expansion in the US market,” said Manuel Stan, SVP US at Kindred Group. “Our aim is to go live shortly and we expect that the success we have seen in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Indiana will of course follow in Virginia.”
“We are very grateful to the Virginia Lottery for awarding us one of the seven stand-alone mobile sports betting permits in a very competitive process. We look forward to opening an office in Virginia, which will function as our third hub together with our offices in New York and New Jersey,” Stan added.
“We are thrilled to continue our journey in what we believe will become the largest gambling market in the world.”
Virginia’s regulated online sports betting market opened on January 21 with just four active operators and has since grown to ten. The market generated wagers of $265.8m in February from five active operators, rising to an estimated $304.0m in March according to data released Thursday by the Virginia Lottery.
Shares in Kindred Group plc. (STO:KIND-SDB) were trading 1.47 per cent higher at SEK152.05 per share in Stockholm Friday morning.