Kambi sees opportunities with Swedish regulation
Chief exec Kristian Nylén says revenues may be initially impacted by a liberalised Swedish market that would also create new opportunities
The CEO of Kambi Sports Solutions said he remains cautious over potential regulation in Sweden which, while creating plentiful long-term opportunities in the country, would initially impact the supplier’s bottom line.
Speaking to eGaming Review after the supplier’s Q3 results yesterday morning, CEO Kristian Nylén admitted that proposals to re-regulate and liberalise the Swedish market – which are to be accelerated after the country was hit by infringement proceedings issued by the European Commission – would be met with mixed emotions.
“Quite a large part of our revenues are coming from Sweden and since our deals are mainly made on gaming revenues after tax, regulation would hit us due to slightly lower commission,” Nylén told eGR.
However the chief executive added that a regulated market would be positive for the firm over time with a number of new entrants to the market.
The supplier already has an established presence in the country through Unibet, and Nylén believes his firm would be well placed to clinch new business should the country open its doors.
And Kambi is also looking into partnerships with media groups in regulated markets after witnessing such companies developing an interest in online gambling, particularly in countries that are planning to regulate.
Playtech has recently penned deals with RCS Media, the media group behind Italian sports national Gazzetta dello Sport, to add to its deal with UK newspaper group Trinity Mirror, while BetVictor was signed on to provide a white label sportsbook to The Sun before pulling out of the deal three months later.
However Nylén said that any deal between Kambi and a media group would have to represent “the right opportunity”, arguing that there “aren’t many good examples” of media groups being successful in egaming aside from BSkyB’s Sky Betting & Gaming subsidiary.
“I believe gaming has been seen as something that’s easy to make quick money on and they don’t always add the organisation to make it work as well as it could,” he added.
“The operators still need marketing expertise in house and while we provide a good product, they still have to do everything else to be successful in player acquisition.”