Kambi credits AI for World Cup success

• Kambi Group ran its first fully AI-traded FIFA World Cup, helping push Q2 revenue up 13.5% to €45.9m.
• Live Bet Builder bets jumped to 22% of the total, up from 3% during the 2022 tournament.
• Adjusted EBITA more than doubled to €7.6m, prompting Kambi to raise full-year guidance to €23m–27m.

Kambi Group has reported that AI-powered trading ran its entire FIFA World Cup operation for the first time, helping drive second-quarter revenue up 13.5% to €45.9m from €40.5m a year earlier.

The sports betting technology supplier also raised its full-year adjusted EBITA guidance to €23m–27m, citing the tournament’s performance and disciplined cost control.

AI-led World Cup

Werner Becher, CEO of Kambi Group, said the tournament “underlined the edge we have with our AI trading system,” with five sports now fully transitioned to automated trading and more to follow.

Kambi’s systems priced and traded all 104 matches without adding human traders, he said, a shift the company flagged as central to its 2026 strategy ahead of the event.

Kambi processed more than €1bn in Turnkey Sportsbook turnover and over 100 million bets across the tournament, recording an operator trading margin of 18%. Live Bet Builder wagers, which let customers combine multiple markets on one match, accounted for 22% of all live bets, up sharply from 3% during the 2022 World Cup. The Spain-Argentina final alone generated more than a million unique bet combinations.

Becher noted that Americas partners generated 57% of global network turnover during the tournament, up from 38% at the 2022 World Cup, and pointed to external benchmarking from Bettormetrics rating Kambi a leader on live betting availability.

Profit and margins

Adjusted EBITA for the quarter reached €7.6m, more than double the €3.7m recorded a year earlier, at a margin of 16.5%, up from 9.3%. Operating expenses fell slightly to €31.5m, a decrease of 0.6%. Operating profit came to €5.8m, well above the €1.6m posted in Q2 2025, at a margin of 12.7%. Earnings per share rose to €0.128 from €0.009.

The quarter builds on an already strong start to the year. Kambi’s Q1 2026 revenue rose 5% to €43.5m, with adjusted EBITA up 64% to €5.7m, driven partly by early AI rollouts across tennis and basketball.

Revenue for the first half of 2026 reached €89.4m, up 9.1%, while H1 adjusted EBITA climbed 83% to €13.3m, at a margin of 14.8%, up from 8.8%. Shares in the Stockholm-listed company rose sharply on the announcement.

Canadian expansion

Kambi continued to build out its North American presence.

The company was selected by Atlantic Lottery Corporation and British Columbia Lottery Corporation to power a new multi-province Canadian sportsbook, and partnered with Pure Casino Entertainment ahead of Alberta’s regulated market opening on 13 July.

The supplier also signed a multi-year Odds Feed+ deal with RETABET Group, extended its player account management partnership with 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, and renewed its BetWarrior agreement across Latin America.

Kambi has raised its estimated full-year adjusted EBITA to €23m–27m, up from a previous range of €20m–25m. With the tournament now over, the company’s focus shifts to sustaining momentum through the return of domestic football leagues in Q3.