Odd Molly founder and entrepreneur Per Holknekt loses the legal dispute against one of Sweden’s leading gambling companies, Kindred Group, which owns Unibet.
After gambling away 26 million kroner over a 15-year period, Holknekt sued the betting company for over 10 million kroner – now he must pay more than 2 million kroner instead.
After a 15-year battle with his addiction, Holknekt chose to sue the gambling company, claiming that they not only fueled the addiction but encouraged him to continue gambling despite the heavy losses.
Now he loses the lawsuit against the company and is forced to pay compensation for legal costs, which includes 144,000 euros to Unibet’s owner Kindred and 36,000 euros to Kindred’s subsidiary Spooniker. Together, it covers more than SEK 2 million.
Over the years, he gambled away 26 million kroner. He believed that he was addicted to gambling and that the agreements he entered into with Unibet over the years should therefore be declared invalid and demanded compensation of more than SEK 10 million.
The lawsuit that Holknekt previously submitted to the Stockholm district court revealed that the gambling addiction not only cost him large financial sums but also his marriage at the time, which TV4 Nyheterna has previously reported on.
Don’t believe in Holknekt
The judgment states that Kindred Group has contested Holknekt’s claims. Kindred has previously claimed during the trial that it is not believed that Holknekt would have felt so bad when he was playing – because at the same time he started a company, spoke on the radio during the summer and released an autobiography.
In December, the verdict was handed down in a similar lawsuit against the betting company Bettsson, who then had to pay back just under 6 million to a gambling customer.