Kambi lands €50m Allwyn source code deal

• Kambi grants Allwyn a perpetual, global licence to its sportsbook source code.
• Kambi expects €45m to €50m in operating profit from the agreements over 2027 to 2031.
• Allwyn also agrees to buy the remaining 30% of IWG for an estimated $120m.

Allwyn is set to bring its sports betting technology in-house after Kambi Group agreed on 10 November to license its sportsbook source code to the operator.

The agreements will move Allwyn’s betting brands onto a single platform. They also close a search that began in earnest when its Novibet takeover collapsed in March.

Licence, not a sale

Kambi will grant Allwyn a perpetual, global licence to its sportsbook source code, according to the supplier’s regulatory announcement. Kambi says the code has powered tier-one operators for more than 15 years.

Kambi keeps ownership of the code. Allwyn gets the right to use and develop it, plus associated services. Kambi will handle development and deployment during a transition period.

Kambi will then build and train a dedicated team that transfers to Allwyn once the code is implemented. According to Kambi, that team will give the operator full operational control and its own development capability.

The agreement is first Kambi’s first transaction of this type. The supplier’s technology is used by partners in more than 100 jurisdictions.

Kambi stays on the trading desk

Alongside the licence, the two companies signed a separate long-term trading services agreement. It covers Kambi’s proprietary AI-powered trading and risk management.

Kambi says the arrangement also strengthens its global network and liquidity pool. AI is now central to its pitch. Earlier this month the supplier said AI trades 85% of bets across its network, as part of its Q3 results.

Allwyn has its own plans too. Cyprus Mail reports that the operator will develop additional capabilities in trading, pricing and risk management to strengthen its central sportsbook operations. Neither announcement explains how that work will sit alongside Kambi’s services.

Two sets of numbers

Kambi expects the agreements to contribute approximately €45m to €50m to operating profit between 2027 and 2031. About 40% of that is expected in 2027, and a further 20% in 2028.

That estimate includes an upfront payment in early 2027 and milestone payments linked to later deliveries. Building and training the transfer team will add to Kambi’s operating expenses from 2027 to 2029.

Kambi intends to return the majority of net proceeds to shareholders. Its capital allocation priorities are unchanged, and it will keep enough flexibility to fund product and technology development.

Allwyn’s figure measures something different. The operator puts its consideration to Kambi at around €50m over the three years to 2029. Roughly half falls in 2027, and Allwyn expects to capitalise the cost.

Werner Becher, CEO of Kambi Group, said:

“This agreement shows the quality and strategic value of the sportsbook technology Kambi has built over more than 15 years. A global market leader like Allwyn choosing our technology to unify its sportsbook operations reflects the strength of our product, our expertise and our track record of delivering at scale in regulated markets. It also brings Kambi significant long-term commercial value and shows how we can create additional value from the capabilities we have built, through strong, long-term partnerships.”

Second time lucky

Allwyn has said before that owning its sportsbook technology is a strategic priority. In March it withdrew its Novibet bid after the Hellenic Competition Commission warned that the combined group would hold over 70% of Greece’s online betting market. That deal was valued at up to €327m.

Novibet’s proprietary sportsbook was central to the deal. Allwyn CEO Robert Chvátal said at the time that the group had already started exploring other options. CFO Kenneth Morton called bringing sportsbook technology in-house a key priority.

A licence gets Allwyn there for a fraction of the Novibet price. It also adds no market share for competition regulators to scrutinise.

The group has also been reshaping itself since completing its OPAP business combination in March, and PrizePicks has started contributing to its quarterly results.

Kresimir Spajic, CEO of Allwyn Digital, said:

“We are delighted to announce further progress in our strategy to own and manage key technology and content capabilities that enhance product innovation, differentiation and time to market, and support our ability to deliver a best-in-class customer proposition.

“Our agreement with Kambi, leveraging its proven, scalable technology and deployment expertise to bring our sportsbook platform in-house, represents an important step in that strategy, giving us greater freedom to evolve our offering, tailor products to individual brands and markets, and build a scalable foundation to accelerate future growth.”

Full house at IWG

Allwyn announced a second deal the same day. It plans to buy the remaining 30% of Instant Win Gaming (IWG), which would give it full ownership of the e-instant games supplier.

Allwyn first took a 70% stake in IWG, completing that investment in September 2024. The new purchase follows the exercise of a put option by IWG’s minority shareholders. The price is estimated around $120m (€107m), subject to closing and working capital adjustments.

IWG supplies digital instant-win games to lottery operators in the US, Europe and other markets. Its adjusted EBITDA grew 30% year on year in 2025. Its founders will stay in their executive roles, and completion is expected in Q1 2027.

Migration season

Allwyn expects central costs to rise by a low tens of millions of euros a year as it builds these capabilities. Savings across its segments should partly offset that in later years.

What Allwyn wants from this is a single platform with economies of scale and more cross-selling between sports betting and iGaming. It has not yet said which brands will move first, which markets they cover, or when.

For Kambi, the deal opens a new revenue model. It can now earn from its platform even when a partner wants to own the stack. Last year it did the reverse, buying PAM source code from OMEGA Systems.

The upfront payment and the first milestones make 2027 the year to watch. If Allwyn’s migration goes smoothly, other large operators weighing build against buy could start asking Kambi for the same deal.