David Bretnitz, Kambi: “Our products empower partners with flexibility, risk management, and market-leading odds creation”

David Bretnitz, Vice President of Sales, Americas at Kambi Group, spoke to Focus Gaming News about the company’s sports betting innovations ahead of G2E Las Vegas 2024

Exclusive interview.- Kambi Group will be present at G2E Las Vegas 2024, one of the most important events in the gaming industry, which will take place from 8-10 October at The Venetian Expo.

To find out more about Kambi Group’s plans for this year’s G2E Las Vegas, Focus Gaming News spoke to David Bretnitz, vice president of sales, Americas at Kambi Group, who discussed the company’s new product offerings ahead of the event and highlighted how Kambi is positioning itself as a leader in the sports betting market, focusing on partnerships, the importance of personalisation, and strategic plans to expand its presence across the United States and other key regions.

What can attendees expect to see and experience at Kambi’s booth during G2E Las Vegas 2024?

This year, Kambi is really excited to be unveiling its expanded portfolio of leading sports betting products and services at G2E as we become the home of premium sports betting solutions. In addition to our renowned end-to-end Turnkey Sportsbook, we now offer a range of standalone sports betting products that operators can select to elevate their existing technology, regardless of their size or sportsbook strategy. For example, we are really looking forward to talking to operators about our new Odds Feed+ product, which provides operators with access to our extensive library of high-quality odds, delivered through a single API integration.

We welcome operators to stop by booth 2230 to talk to the Kambi team and discover the missing piece of their sportsbook.

Can you share insights on Kambi’s current partnerships with US-based sportsbooks and how those have evolved?

Over the last year, Kambi has built relationships with our existing partners as well as some new ones as we further establish our position as the leading sportsbook provider in the US. Recently, we signed an extension with Rush Street Interactive, which was Kambi’s first partner in the US. After initially partnering with them in 2018, this latest extension allows us to continue to support their growth across the country as well as their expansion throughout Canada, Colombia, and Mexico.

Another commercial operator we are proud to work with is Bally’s Corporation, who, since partnering with Kambi, has successfully launched their mobile sportsbook in nine states including New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado. Furthermore, Kambi has built on its reputation as the go-to sportsbook supplier for tribal operators after signing a landmark multi-state sportsbook agreement with Choctaw Nation, one of the largest gaming tribes in the United States. 

“Kambi has built relationships with our existing partners as well as some new ones as we further establish our position as the leading sportsbook provider in the US.”

How is Kambi addressing the increasing demand for personalisation in sports betting experiences, and will we see new tools or features in this regard at G2E?

Personalisation remains incredibly important for sportsbooks not only for acquisition and retention but for standing out against competition in local markets too. Earlier this year Kambi launched a third-party ecosystem called Kambi Engage, which was created to offer our partners streamlined access to a curated selection of engagement providers including differentiation and customization capabilities.

Some of the services included are real-time multi-channel engagement platforms, automated customer behaviour learning tools, and other unique end-user experiences. Each vendor provides best-in-class solutions in their respective areas giving our partners the tools they need to enhance their offerings and deliver superior betting experiences to their customers.

Kambi also provides partners with superior user journeys and engaging experiences through our expert front-end division, Shape Games. The seamless user experiences that Shape provides are highly customisable across web, mobile and retail channels. Their services empower partners to achieve brand aspirations while delivering exceptional user experiences with a range of differentiation tools and engagement features, not just for sports betting, but across all igaming verticals.

“Personalisation remains incredibly important for sportsbooks not only for acquisition and retention but for standing out against competition in local markets too.”

The US sports betting market is highly competitive. What strategies does Kambi employ to differentiate itself from other software providers in this space?

Kambi distinguishes itself in the highly competitive US sports betting market through the power and scale of its network, which includes over 40 operators globally. Our success lies in leveraging a proven, unrivalled turnkey sportsbook solution while offering cutting-edge standalone services like Odds Feed+, our award-winning Bet Builder, Managed Trading, Front End, Esports and Sportsbook Platform

The Kambi network is more than the sum of its parts: every player interaction across our global partners feeds into a central data ecosystem to provide actionable insights that sharpen our odds and informs our product development. This network effect, paired with our ability to deliver a fully customisable sportsbook, gives Kambi a distinct competitive advantage.

Our products empower partners with flexibility, risk management, and market-leading odds creation, allowing them to differentiate in their own right while benefiting from the collective strength of the Kambi network.

Are there any specific plans or initiatives Kambi has in place to enter new states or deepen its presence in key US markets?

While it has been a modest year for expanded regulation in the United States, Kambi is constantly monitoring individual states’ situations closely, including larger markets such as California, Texas and Oklahoma. We have an unrivalled compliance record and a proven history of launching at speed, including many day-one launches of legalised sports betting, due to our scalable technology and vast regulatory experience in dozens of markets across the globe.

We will continue to monitor the evolving regulatory landscape of the US while we are also excited by recent regulatory developments across the Americas, including in Brazil where we recently partnered with KTO Group.

In July, the company confirmed Werner Becher as the successor to Kristian as CEO. What does an addition like Werner Becher bring to Kambi?

Werner is an exceptional successor to Kristian who created an amazing legacy at Kambi and will continue to play a vital role in its success moving forward from his position on the Kambi Board. Werner brings vast industry experience and proven business acumen to the company having previously been a key figure at sports data and betting supplier, Sportradar, where he was managing director of its US-facing Betting arm before assuming the position of CEO of its Europe, and Middle East and Africa and Latin America business. He was also previously CEO of European betting and gaming operator Interwetten for eight years. This vast industry experience will be vital for Kambi as we expand our product portfolio and look to build on the success of what we achieved under Kristian’s leadership.

You have signed several important partnership deals in different markets this year, how do you assess your achievements so far and what are your goals for the remainder of 2024?

We’re incredibly excited about the partners we have welcomed to the Kambi network this year, including our most recent partnership with Brazilian operator, KTO. They have become one of the fastest growing operators in the country and boast an extensive customer base with an ambition to build on its current status in Brazil. By upgrading their previous third-party sportsbook supplier with Kambi’s technology, we feel confident we can help them replicate the success that other Kambi partners have seen throughout Latin America.

Another landmark signing for us this year was with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, one of the largest tribes in the United States, where our turnkey sportsbook has become the go-to choice for tribal operators. Choctaw Casinos and Resorts is incredibly experienced in the gaming space and has ambitions to go beyond just offering sports betting in Oklahoma, where they own a selection of gaming and hospitality destinations throughout the southeastern part of the state including their flagship location near the Dallas-Fort Worth area.