Expansion in the United States helped Kambi Group increase its year-over-year legal sports betting revenue by 19% in the first quarter of 2023.
In a release of figures this week, the technology provider for sports betting sites announced revenue of $48.5 million, thanks largely to football and March Madness in America.
“The first quarter was another busy period for Kambi, including new market launches in the Americas, the expansion of Kambi’s partner network, and a full sporting calendar,” Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén said in a statement released by the company. “These events helped drive a 12% year-on-year increase in operator turnover and a 19% rise in revenue.”
Fresh off success in the previous quarter due to the World Cup, Kambi continued to thrive with new technologies, although its operating costs dipped 38% and operating margins dropped 9.6%.
Nylén said a number of factors led to those decreases, including “foreign exchange movements and one-off costs to improve future efficiency.”
Success in the U.S.
College football and the NFL made up the Top 20 events of the first half of 2023’s first quarter, but Kambi was able to continue operating at a high rate because of college basketball.
Kambi said its Bet Builder technology, which was introduced during the World Cup last quarter, helped the company see a 17% increase year-over-year in operator turnover during the wildly popular NCAA tournament.
Kambi also cited a “halo effect” from the World Cup that boosted soccer numbers during the first quarter as well. The company added that its AI-driven algorithmic trading capability that was implemented during Premier League games in January helped Bet Builder turnover more than double year-over-year.
Kambi, which provides sports betting technology to 40 partners on six continents, made several moves to enhance its footprints in the U.S. during Q1.
It launched 20 new partnerships in America alone and launched into Ohio, Wisconsin, and Massachusetts. Kambi also extended its reach with retail presences in Connecticut, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.
Moving forward
Kambi vows to continue working on its AI capabilities and improve that throughout 2023.
The company is also looking to do more with its expansion into South America. Signing a deal with Corredor Empresarial S.A. was one of its bigger accomplishments of Q1 as it sets its sights on Latin American markets.
“Latin America is a region of significant long-term potential for Kambi and will become increasingly integral as we look to extend our position across the Americas,” Nylén said.
“Kambi already has a strong foothold in some of the region’s most established sports betting markets such as Colombia and Argentina, and recent public announcements from the Brazilian government show positive signs that regulation of sports betting in Brazil is edging nearer in what is projected to become one of the world’s largest regulated markets.”
