Kambi unveils multi-province Canada contract alongside Q1 growth
Kambi Group has today announced a successful bid to become the national sportsbook for Atlantic Lottery Corporation and British Columbia Lottery Corporation, alongside a 4.9% year-on-year rise in first-quarter revenue to €43.5 million (US$50.9 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift from €41.5 million (US$48.6 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift the previous year.
Following a joint request for proposal led by Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Kambi will provide online gambling and sports betting in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for British Columbia Lottery Corporation, as well as in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador for Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
The framework sees the provincial gambling corporations share Kambi’s technology and trading foundation, while the service will be delivered by each operator within their respective jurisdictions.
Atlantic Lottery Director of Sports Betting Scott Eagles said: “This collaboration represents an important step forward in how provincial lotteries work together to deliver a consistent, high-quality sports betting experience for players, while maintaining strong governance within each jurisdiction. Through this collective approach, we are focused on prioritising trust, integrity and player protection.”
Kambi Group Chief Executive Werner Becher added: “Kambi has a long history of working with lottery and state-owned operators worldwide, and we look forward to delivering a world-class sports betting experience for players across multiple Canadian provinces.”
Looking at Q1
Meanwhile, Kambi reported a 63.5% increase in adjusted EBITA (acq) in Q1 to €5.7 million (US$6.7 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift at a margin of 13%. Operating expenses fell by 2.1% to €31.9 million (US$37.3 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift, while total expenses were down 0.4% to €39.2 million (US$45.9 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift, bringing operating profit to €4.2 million (US$4.9 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift, at a margin of 9.7%. Earnings per share for the first quarter were €0.086 (US$0.10)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift.
As well as drawing attention to the new Canada deal in an earnings call this morning, Becher addressed an anticipated €4 million (US$4.7 million)1 EUR = 1.1702 USD
2026-04-29Powered by CMG CurrenShift tax hit from increased gross gaming revenue taxes in Colombia. Colombia announced the additional 16% on top of an existing 15% tax rate in March.
Pointing to “a lot of momentum in Brazil”, Werner added that the firm also has a “strong footprint” in Argentina, and is “supplying around 70% of the market share in Colombia,” where he said the platform was a “clear leader” alongside BetPlay and Rush Street.
“There is more to come in Latin America, we still see strong growth results,” he added. “But of course, in Brazil, everyone knows there will be an election on 4 October, and as always before elections, there is some political noise. So, there are some comments out from the President and others in the country to put more pressure even on the regulated betting operators, which I personally don’t think is the right way to channelize business into regulated markets. President Lula said very clearly that he does not want to repeal betting and gaming to be licensed at all. But definitely there is some pressure on the Brazilian operators right now, with more measures to probably come in the next few months.”
Werner also pointed to Kambi’s existing relationship with the Potawatomi tribe in Wisconsin, where online sports betting was approved earlier this month. However, he said it was not possible to predict when the market might launch with tribes still needing to gain local and possibly federal approval to operate online sports betting products.
Finally, the Chief Executive flagged the “competitive edge” that he feels Kambi is cementing through a combination of big data and its growing AI capabilities. “We’ve spoken many times about our ability to leverage the power of our partner network, but perhaps less so about how this edge is being compounded by a growing AI capability,” he said.
“Our AI trading system is currently pricing and trading more than 60% of our bets across the network fully automated. In addition to soccer, we’ve recently been rolling out AI trading across tennis, ice hockey, soccer and basketball, with more sports to be added in the coming months. The end result is a product of greater quality, sharper odds, a wider offering and limitless compatibility, all fully automated, and this in turn feeds into better financial results, returning a higher sports betting margin, reduced risk and delivered in a more efficient way.”
Kambi will present its second quarter results on 22 July 2026.
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The Backstory
Why the Canada pivot matters now
Kambi’s move to power sportsbooks for multiple Canadian provincial lotteries lands after a two-year stretch defined by margin pressure, regulatory change and customer migrations. The lottery-led framework in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia promises steadier volumes, clearer oversight and reduced customer concentration risk compared to a patchwork of commercial operators. It also puts Kambi deeper into a region where governments act as both regulator and operator, a structure that can translate to longer contracts and predictable revenue.
That stability is not incidental. Through 2025 the company’s topline trended lower as markets shifted and taxes rose. In its full-year wrap, Kambi disclosed revenue fell 8.2% to €162 million, citing regulatory and macro pressures, while emphasizing improving late-year momentum and cost discipline. The company also flagged AI-led trading and partner diversification as longer-term offsets. That narrative sets the stage for a Canada consortium where several lotteries share Kambi’s tech stack but run their own brands, offering operating leverage without the heavy marketing burden typical of private sportsbook launches.
The Canada arrangement also aligns with Kambi’s recent focus on government and state-owned clients, reinforcing a push to balance high-growth but volatile markets with institutional accounts. As commercial partners pursue in-house platforms or switch providers, multi-jurisdiction lottery work can provide durable pipelines and help smooth quarterly swings.
From revenue slide to reset
Kambi spent most of last year contending with declines before finding late-year traction. In its fourth-quarter and full-year update, the company reported quarterly revenue down 3.9% to €42.7 million and a full-year decrease of 8.2% to €162 million, pointing to higher taxes and foreign exchange as headwinds. Management kept a 2026 adjusted EBITA target of €20 million to €25 million, noting progress with new customers would offset the impact of planned client migrations and that efficiency gains would underpin margins. The outlook hinged in part on tax stability in key markets.
Earlier disclosures underscored the same pressure. Kambi’s 2025 results summary reiterated the 8.2% revenue drop and tied performance to a mix of external shocks and strategic pivots. It spotlighted late-year EBITDA improvement, diversification of the partner base and regulatory milestones, including a first-day launch in Brazil’s regulated market and approval in Nevada. The company also underscored an expanding AI footprint across its network as a structural lever for product quality and trading efficiency.
Those details frame the Canada contract as a potential inflection. While not immune to policy changes, lottery-led deals often produce steadier fees and lower churn risk, complementing markets where politics, taxation and competition can compress hold and delay rollouts. The timing, on the heels of a difficult year and a firmer first quarter, suggests Kambi is leaning into segments that can sustain multiyear growth.
Deal flow as a buffer
Commercial momentum has been a central hedge against the revenue slump. In a third-quarter update, Kambi said revenue fell 13.1% to €37.4 million, or 8.1% excluding prior-year transition fees, but emphasized an acceleration in signings, including seven turnkey sportsbook partners, three Odds Feed+ deals and two renewals. The company also disclosed the purchase of Omega Systems’ player account management source code, a step toward tighter control over key infrastructure and deeper integration with operator stacks.
That cadence carried into Latin America. A recent agreement with RedCap sets up Kambi to power the Betpro and Starplay brands, first online in El Salvador and Panama with retail to follow and a path into additional markets. The RedCap partnership replaces an incumbent supplier and plugs Kambi’s end-to-end tech into a multi-brand operator with its own account platform, a combination designed to speed deployment and reduce integration risk. Together with other turnkey additions disclosed across late 2025, the deal portfolio extends Kambi’s reach while diluting dependence on any one client or jurisdiction.
Canada’s two-lottery structure fits the same diversification logic. By sharing Kambi’s technology across separate provincial operators, the framework amplifies common product development while preserving local governance. For Kambi, the model concentrates engineering spend, improves data network effects and raises barriers to switching for public-sector customers that value continuity.
Data, AI and an esports visibility play
Kambi has also leaned on product differentiation. The company’s full-year narrative noted rising automation in trading, with AI handling a growing share of bets and improving pricing precision and breadth of markets. That automation is not merely a cost lever; better odds and faster markets can lift margin and retention, especially in soccer, basketball, hockey and tennis where live betting intensity is high.
In esports, Kambi’s Abios unit struck a multi-year agreement to provide match schedules, statistics and live scoring data for League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and Valorant to Google surfaces, including Search and the Google App. The Google esports data partnership extends Abios’ footprint well beyond betting operators and puts Kambi’s data pipeline in front of mainstream audiences. While not a sportsbook deal, the exposure can reinforce brand credibility with regulators, lotteries and media partners, and it signals that Kambi’s data infrastructure meets the scale and latency demands of consumer platforms.
These technology bets complement the Canada rollout. Provincial lotteries emphasize integrity, player protection and local oversight. An operator that can demonstrate auditable AI systems, robust data quality and low-latency trading has a clearer story to tell on risk controls and product reliability—both critical in public tenders. The broader Kambi narrative positions data competency as a competitive edge that compounds as partner volume grows.
Regulatory crosswinds and the stakes ahead
The strategic case for Canada strengthens against a backdrop of shifting rules. Recent disclosures highlighted higher taxes in multiple jurisdictions that weighed on results and guided commentary stressed the importance of policy stability for hitting 2026 earnings targets. In Latin America, where Kambi has pursued share through turnkey and feed deals, political calendars and tax discussions can slow market activation or trim margins. That makes lottery clients in mature frameworks a useful counterbalance.
Even so, the plan still depends on execution. Kambi’s fourth-quarter briefing cautioned that migrations of large partners would remain a headwind in the near term. The company’s ability to replace volume through new signings, scale AI trading to more sports and integrate assets like Omega Systems’ code will shape how quickly margins expand. The 2025 performance review also made clear that diversification, cost control and regulatory readiness are central to restoring growth.
That is the context for the Canada contract and the early-year revenue and profit lift. If Kambi can convert lottery scale into consistent fees, layer in Latin America launches such as RedCap’s online entries in Panama and El Salvador and keep pushing AI-led product gains, the company can create a more predictable base under its cyclical sportsbook business. The next checkpoints will be partner launches, tax developments in key markets and proof that higher-visibility data plays like the Google-Abios deal translate into commercial leverage with lotteries and operators.
