Kambi looks to Italy to continue rapid growth

Kambi is actively pursuing new business in the growing Italian sports betting market as the sportsbook supplier looks to build on an impressive year of growth in 2015.

Speaking to eGaming Review shortly after posting a 32% increase in full-year revenues coupled with a significant increase in EBIT, Kambi chief executive Kristian Nylen (pictured) said the Italian market presented “interesting opportunities”.

Kambi is already active in the market through its relationships with Unibet, Paf and 888, the latter of which launched earlier this month.

“We have had Unibet operating in Italy for a while and now we have 888 and Paf as well as a couple of others who may be interested from our current customer base,” Nylen said.

“But I think there are a few opportunities and interesting operators in Italy that should look at upgrading their sportsbook offering,” he added. “Obviously I can’t comment on specifics but I see an opportunity and I think there is a lot of room for improvement in their services.”

Following a period of liberalisation, the Italian online sports betting market has been on the rise – in 2015 revenues increased by 25% year-on-year to ?267m while the switch to a revenue-based tax framework this year is expected to provide a further boost to the market.

Nylen also spoke of his delight at the recent addition of two new clients – Rank Group and LeoVegas – both of which he said should be up and running before the start of the European Championships this summer.

“From our point of view there shouldn’t be any problem for it to happen [before the Euros] – we are able to do an integration in six-to-eight weeks,” Nylen said.