Kambi Group has entered into an exclusive, long-term Sportsbook partnership agreement with Penn National Gaming Inc, the largest regional gaming operator in North America.

Following a competitive selection process, Nasdaq-listed Penn National Gaming, Inc., which operates more than 40 gaming facilities across 19 U.S. states, will integrate the Kambi Sportsbook platform ahead of an on-property and online rollout in jurisdictions with active sports betting legislation.

Legal sports betting is currently active or pending in at least eight states where Penn National operates a gaming property, including West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Nevada. In addition, bills that seek to regulate sports betting are on file across numerous states where Penn National has a land-based presence, potentially giving Penn National unrivalled access to regulated sports betting markets across the country. 

The first launches are due to take place in Q3 2019, initially focusing on Penn National’s brick and mortar casinos in Iowa and Indiana, with online to follow in 2020.

The agreement is not expected to have a material impact on Kambi’s 2019 revenues but has the potential to have a significant effect on its revenues in future years, depending on the speed of rollout of relevant state regulations. The scale of the opportunity will result in additional short-term costs, particularly in relation to state licensing fees with an acceleration in licence applications required to capitalise on Penn National’s vast U.S. footprint.

Kristian Nylén, Kambi’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Kambi’s strategy has always been to partner with tier one operators, particularly those that share our vision and passion for sports and sports wagering. In Penn National, we have found an ideal partner – one that is not only passionate about providing high quality sports wagering experiences to its customers, but a company that adheres to the highest level of ethical business standards.

“It’s an honour for Kambi to be working with an organisation of the size and stature of Penn National, and we look forward to helping them become a national leader in the U.S. sports betting market in the coming years.”

The deal gives Penn National access to Kambi’s highly flexible and empowering technology, enabling the operator to develop a proprietary front-end and differentiated sports wagering experiences. Penn National also selected Kambi for its multi-channel capability, expertise in trading and risk management, record of delivery and commitment to integrity and corporate probity. 

Jon Kaplowitz, Penn National’s SVP of Interactive, said: “Sports betting represents an exciting growth opportunity for Penn National. By controlling our front-end product and leveraging our vast casino footprint, our Company is well-positioned to execute on a sports betting strategy that maximizes value to shareholders. Utilizing Kambi’s best-in-class managed-trading services and omni-channel software allows us to effectively capitalize on this strategy.”