The third quarter is always the most challenging for the sports betting industry given the quiet sporting calendar and this year was no exception. It was also a quarter marked by growing global economic uncertainty and higher cost of living, trends which show little sign of subsiding any time soon. Despite this, Kambi proved its resilience once more and Nylén reported another busy quarter for the business with operator turnover growth of 12%.
Kambi also saw great commercial momentum during the quarter with the signings of ilani, Mohegan, Oaklawn and Ondiss, and with the recent signing of Great Canadian Entertainment, one of Canada’s largest on-property gaming companies, Kambi’s partner network was significantly strengthened. Owned by Apollo Global Management, which holds a number of gaming assets, Great Canadian has the potential to become a major player in the Canadian sportsbook market and its selection of Kambi underlines its position as the partner of choice in the Americas.
"Our UX capability was also enhanced during the quarter with our acquisition of front end specialists Shape Games. This is a landmark deal for Kambi for many reasons. Crucially, it gives us the fully-fledged, native front end capability at a time when the front end experience is a more vital part of the sports betting value chain than ever before. Having worked closely with Shape Games on various projects in recent years, I have seen first-hand the strength of their technology and the level of expertise they possess, and I am pleased to welcome such a profitable and rapidly growing business to the Kambi Group. The acquisition will not only complement our turnkey solution but it also aligns with our modularisation strategy with the front end module set to be sold as a standalone service outside of the existing network, thereby increasing our total addressable market", Nylén explained.
The CEO added that Kambi continues to make great strides towards executing its modularisation strategy and can reveal that our award-winning Bet Builder, which recently launched for NBA, the final major US team sport to be added to the product, has been identified as the first standalone module we’ll go to market with. "Unlike our key competitors, Kambi’s Bet Builder was created as part of the core sportsbook, thereby benefitting from our expertise in areas such as competitive pricing, unique user experience and risk management, creating a compelling product for operators to integrate," Nylén said.
"Our future is looking promising, operating from a strong position as we enter an economic recession which, while it will no doubt present challenges, may prove positive for B2B businesses such as Kambi in the long term. When also taking into consideration the recent start of the US basketball season and a World Cup still to come, we look forward to ending 2022 on a high before embarking on an exciting 2023,” he concluded.
Financial summary
Source: GMB
