Kambi has underscored its ability to overcome potential regulatory hurdles and ‘capitalise on future opportunities’, highlighting the depth of its sportsbook offering and new M&A strategy.

Publishing its Q3 trading results, the Stockholm listed sports betting technology supplier reported a quarterly year-on-year revenue increase of 48% to €41.6 million (Q3 2020: €28.1m) reflecting an 80% increase in revenue from the period covering January 2021 to September 2021 to €127.5 million (2020: €70.8m).

Group EBIT for the quarter stood at €14.7 million (2020: €6.5m) as Kambi tracks  year-to-date earnings of €50.0 million (YTD 2020: €10.0m). Group performance was buoyed by achieving an EBIT margin of 35.4% (Q3 2020: 23.4%) and 39.2% (2020: 14.2%) respectively. 

According to Kambi, its sportsbook offering has played a key role in its quarterly success, in particular in the US where the onset of the National Football League (NFL) season contributed to its Bet Builder product ‘engaging a large number of bettors and returning higher average operator trading margin’, helping Kambi report  ‘a 10% increase in operator turnover with the exclusion of DraftKings’.

However, the group did acknowledge key client Penn National Gaming’s acquisition of Canadian sports media company theScore, a company which has plans to develop its own sports betting offering and owns a player management system. 

“As ever, Kambi is committed to creating the world’s leading sportsbook and we have spent more than a decade focused exclusively on the sports betting vertical, developing a core product that is near impossible to replicate,” said Kristian Nylén, Chief Executive Officer.

“Whether it’s our ability to offer a great betting experience, being ahead of the curve in terms of regulation and compliance or having a wealth of network data at hand to effectively power the engine, Kambi has both the technology and expertise in place to deliver long-term success for our partners.”

In addition to its sports wagering operations, Kambi also underscored its M&A strategy and partnership network as being key to its strong results, highlighting the strengthening of its technology capability via the acquisition of esports data and odds provider Abios, 

Described by Nylén as ‘a great fit for Kambi’ which was ‘in line with our longer-term strategy to further modularise our platform’ and diversity revenue streams,’ Albios will also function to bolster its new owner’s position in the burgeoning esports wagering sector. 

Meanwhile, Kambi also oved to expand its partner network in the Bahamas via Island Luck and in the Netherlands through BetCity – averaging one new partner per week – whilst also establishing a foothold in a15th US state by becoming licenced in newly regulated Arizona.

Nylén concluded: “In summary, we’ve performed well, and the future looks bright. We currently have a sales pipeline as strong and varied as I’ve known it. As the global trend of regulation continues, we are in a great position to capitalise on future opportunities as and when they arise, and we have announced the implementation of a share buyback scheme.

“Many of us at Kambi have been in this industry for more than two decades, during which time we’ve seen the sports betting market change markedly. This change is reflected in the evolution of Kambi, where we have built a business that thrives in regulated market conditions, grown to become a global leader, and partnered with major brands across the globe, many entering the space for the first time. This experience means we know what it takes to succeed and I am therefore excited by what the coming years hold for Kambi.”