Sports betting technology provider Kambi Group set a record-setting pace in the third quarter of 2020 on US expansion efforts and the resumption of major league play.
Figures released Friday by the Stockholm-listed Kambi show the company generated revenue of €28.1m in the three months ending September 30, up 22% from the same period last year. Operating profit nearly doubled to €6.5m as margins gained 8.4 points to 23.3% and after-tax profits shot up 122% to €5.1m.
Kambi’s good fortune came as major leagues returned to action following their pandemic-related suspension this spring. This resulted in betting turnover at Kambi clients rising 62% year-on-year to €669m, easily outpacing the previous high of €560m in Q4 2019. Kambi CEO Kristian Nylén said the difference between Q3 and Q2 2020 “couldn’t have been starker,” with September accounting for 43% of Q3’s total.
Kambi boasted 17 launches (three online, 14 land-based) during Q3, including Penn National Gaming’s hotly anticipated debut of its Barstool Sportsbook app in Pennsylvania in September. Kambi also signed a major new client in Churchill Downs Inc’s BetAmerica brand, while inking a long-term extension with existing partner LeoVegas.
Since Q3 ended, Kambi announced an online/land-based deal with the Belgian National Lottery’s Scooore betting brand and powered DraftKings’ online-only debut in Tennessee’s betting market, bringing Kambi’s US presence to 12 states.
The resumption of North American major league play boosted the Americas segment’s share of Kambi clients’ Q3 revenue to 43%, up from 28% in Q3 2019, resulting in the traditionally dominant European segment slipping below 60% for the first time.
Nylén said Kambi was closing out 2020 “in great shape” and with “growing confidence” after surviving the “toughest challenge” in the company’s history.
