Kambi Expands Tribal Portfolio
Kambi was one of the early winners in the US sports betting market, but it's had to reinvent itself after several high-profile partners brought their tech stack in-house.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: Kambi strengthens its tribal portfolio with Choctaw Nations deal.
BEYOND the HEADLINE: Kambi’s shift to tribal and regional partners.
WEEKEND CATCHUP: Optimove’s new survey; Xpoint launches new geolocation tech; LVS gets a W in its quest for a NY casino license.
NEWS: Good news and bad news on the Alabama gambling expansion front.
VIEWS: A single bettor is driving Fanatics’ sports betting rise in New Jersey.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Pricing, it’s always the pricing.
STRAY THOUGHTS: Experience vs. data.
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Kambi Inks Deal With Choctaw Nation
Kambi (a newsletter sponsor) landed a significant partnership agreement, signing an exclusive on-property and online multi-state sportsbook agreement to provide its sports betting technology and services to Choctaw Nation’s gaming entities.
In addition to the deal with one of the nation’s largest gaming tribes (although it is important to note that Oklahoma hasn’t legalized sports betting yet), Kambi further cements its relationship with US tribes, something it began working on several years ago, offering them a B2B alternative to partnerships with the national sports betting operators.
Kambi’s current tribal partners include Seneca Gaming Corporation, Four Winds Casinos, Ilani, Potawatomi Casinos & Hotels, Desert Diamond Casinos, WarHorse Gaming, Prairie Band Casino & Resort, Soaring Eagle, and Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment.
“This is a landmark partnership for Kambi with exciting long-term potential,” said Kristian Nylén, Kambi’s CEO and co-founder. “Trust remains paramount through each tribal partnership, and we look forward to delivering a best-in-class sportsbook that generates long-term sustainable revenues for the Choctaw Nation.”
Per the press release:
“The long-term deal will see Choctaw Nation combine its digital and e-commerce expertise with Kambi’s market-leading turnkey sportsbook with the ambition to become an online and retail sports betting powerhouse. Pending regulatory approvals, the agreement includes the scope to expand into multiple states.”
The inroads Kambi has made with tribes are worth considering, as California tribes have made it clear that their brands, not those of the major commercial online operators, will be the face of California online gambling.
As Pechanga.net publisher Victor Rocha told me in a soon-to-be-released podcast episode, displacing tribal brands with FanDuel and DraftKings is “erasure.”
“After creating these land-based entities, why would we allow our online presence to be eclipsed by FanDuel and DraftKings?” Rocha said. “There are other white-label companies that will come in and fill the spot if those guys don’t want to play.”
Beyond the Headline: Kambi’s Shift to Tribal Partners
With the major players bringing their tech stacks in-house, Kambi, one of the early winners in the US sports betting space, lost several of its highest-profile clients, including DraftKings and Penn.
But as I wrote in two years ago:
Kambi provides tribes and local operators with a product capable of competing with the platform and tech the major national players can airdrop into any market.
And Kambi isn’t hiding its strategy, as the Annual Report states:
“Tribal casinos are an integral part of the overall gaming landscape in the United States. Over the last several decades since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, tribal gaming has grown into a substantial revenue making part of the industry and remains a significant area of focus for Kambi.”
[…]
“As the regulated global sports betting market continues to expand, the high-cost implications of operating a sportsbook at scale in such a complex regulated environment further highlights the strengths of Kambi’s high performance technology.”
If a tribe or smaller regional casino operator wants a bit more control over its sports betting destiny, Kambi is a viable alternative. Kambi allows regional or tribal operators to launch a sports betting site with tech on par with many of the major players - Eilers & Krejcik’s (a newsletter sponsor) proprietary app testers routinely rank Kambi tech stacks used by different operators in the Top 10.
Kambi’s outreach to tribes and the ensuing tribal partnerships could be one of the biggest developments no one is talking about, particularly if the Supreme Court affirms Florida’s hub-and-spoke model.
Weekend Catchup: Optimove Survey; Xpoint Announces New Geolocation Tech; Latest on LVS New York Casino
Less is more: According to an Optimove survey of 305 US adults, “81% said they unsubscribe from online brands that send excessive messages, with 54% saying they’d unsubscribed from at least three online brands within the past 90 days.” However, the results are pretty even for subscribed brands, as “40% of respondents said they wanted to receive more marketing messages from brands they subscribe to, while 45% wanted fewer and 15% said the amount they received was just right.”
Trust mode activated: Since the Dawn of legal online gambling in the US, GeoComply has ruled the geolocation mantel. But ten years into the US online gambling experiment, the company is getting competition from challenger brands, including Xpoint, which just released Trust Mode. According to a CDC Gaming Reports, Trust Mode “reduces geolocation service checks by more than 20%, allowing Xpoint customers to realize significant cost savings compared to legacy industry technologies.”
Things are starting to come together, Charlie: Las Vegas Sands’ dreams of a New York casino got a boost last week when Nassau County said it would rework its lease approval process to allow LVS to build a $4 billion casino project at the Nassau Coliseum. Supreme Court Judge Sarika Kapoor invalidated the 99-year lease agreement LVS signed with Nassau County in November 2023, saying it failed to hold a proper public hearing and environmental review. In February, Judge Kapoor ruled against LVS again, opining that its lease was invalid.
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Alabama Gambling Expansion Is Short on Time
The Alabama conference committee tasked with finding a compromise gambling expansion package delayed a public hearing last Wednesday. Time is of the essence, as the Alabama legislature needs to pass legislation by May 9.
But the news isn’t all bad.
According to the Alabama Reflector, Rep. Chris Blackshear believes the House and Senate are moving closer to a compromise after “several productive meetings.” Other lawmakers on the committee are not quite as optimistic.
Both chambers support authorizing a state lottery and allowing the governor to negotiate compacts with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The points of contention are the House’s insistence on legalizing commercial casinos and sports betting (both retail and online).
If a compromise is reached, online sports betting is likely the first thing to go, as it is the one piece of the casino fight that doesn’t fit with the others.
Any compromise resulting from the conference committee will need 3/5 approval in both chambers, Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature, and the approval of voters in November.
Bottom line: Alabama is still a long way from authorizing a lottery, let alone mobile sports betting.
Quick Hitter: A Single Bettor Is Behind Fanatics’ Rise in NJ
One of the more interesting stories of late is the sudden rise of Fanatics Sportsbook in New Jersey.
I’ve been told the spike is due to a single VIP customer. According to the latest Eilers & Krejcik US Sports Betting Market Monitor, that assessment is a whisper that is becoming a roar. Per EKG, “multiple channel checks said the swing was driven largely by a single customer, described to us as” the biggest losing player in the regulated market by a mile.”
When we remove New Jersey from the equation, Fanatics has a 2.9% market share in the states it operates in. Its New Jersey market share in March was 23.5%. That is a serious bettor.
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Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Commenting on a recent entry from the Earnings+More newsletter, Dillon Borgida noticed an interesting piece of data: contrary to popular opinion, FanDuel and DraftKings are offering the best prices (when compared to the closest challenger brands).
That said, there are other challenger brands that take pricing very seriously, like Prime Sports, Circa, and newsletter sponsor Sporttrade.
Stray Thoughts
I was recently talking to someone about people with enormous amounts of experience who are able to spot things but cannot explain how. Sometimes, you just see things enough to spot things with near-perfect accuracy—a sixth sense, if you will.
I spent my teens living on a basketball court. My twenties were spent in gyms and around strongmen, powerlifters, athletes, and MMA fighters. Now, I spend a lot of time with martial artists. And surprise, I can tell a lot about someone’s athleticism by how they walk.
Data is king. But sometimes, it’s only helpful for backing up ideas or as a jumping-off point. Someone in the thick of it just knows, even if they can’t quite put their finger on how they know them.