Q&A: Kambi CCO Ian Freeman on the supplier's growth plans

Hot on the heels of securing the rights to provide one of Cambodia’s largest casinos with an in-house sportsbook, eGaming Review caught up with Kambi Sports Solutions’ chief commercial officer Ian Freeman (pictured).

eGaming Review: From the outside it looks as though Kambi has had a busy year. How has it been for you?

Ian Freeman: It has been exceptional. All of our customers are taking market share in the core markets. Our operational teams completed six different integrations over the past 14-15 months and that’s in addition to releasing a new mobile client, UK Horse Racing and a host of other product development releases across the Kambi network.

Our capability to deliver our sportsbook into newly re-regulated markets quickly and seamlessly has helped of course. That said, we are fortunate to work with ambitious new operators such as 888, Napoleon Gaming in Belgium, Luckia, Telecinco and Suertia, in Spain with whom we share an aligned vision and ambition and we are very pleased with the growth of these operators and the successes they are having. We have also expanded our pool betting network by adding Betclic and Expekt too so, on the whole, we’ve had a very busy and successful year.

eGR: The World Cup is coming up so should we expect some new partners ahead of that event?

IF: We are always optimistic. What I can say is that I think we have a very healthy pipeline and we are working very hard for all our existing operators and as we get closer to the World Cup. There’s a lot of interest in the Kambi proposition and we are in advanced discussions in a number of market areas.

The market is beginning to embrace the fully managed service concept so for Kambi it’s a validation of the strategy that the Kambi board and Kristian Nylen put in place back in 2010. These are very exciting times.

eGR Are you looking to tie-up with brands from other industries such as media companies?

IF: We are very much positioned at the top end of the market so our proposition is focused on tier-one operators and those that want to challenge. Where you have a non-traditional gambling business with a large consumer base that wants to move into the sports betting sector as an operator then of course they are going to be finding their way, it’s not necessarily easy though, the experience curve counts for a tremendous amount in the Sports betting sector.

That said, every opportunity will be judged on its own merits and if we think an opportunity has a solid business case and potential for a long-term relationship where goals are aligned then of course it will be of interest to us.

eGR: What types of innovation is Kambi focused on at the moment?

IF: We have a very agile product methodology so we are releasing new enhancements, features and benefits every two weeks into the network, our operators increasingly see the benefit of new and improved operators.

For us innovation is anything that is going to drive a better user experience for our operators end users and that’s where we are focused. There are a number of exciting initiatives that cannot be made public for obvious reasons!

eGR: Are you seeing an increase in poker or casino focused operators looking to add sports betting to its portfolio?

IF: Any brand is always looking to extend itself and we are certainly seeing opportunities for acquisition through sportsbook into casino and poker channels, but equally there are opportunities for casino and poker players who would like to indulge in some sports betting or live betting in the same session so it’s feels like a natural evolution to offer a full suite of products to end users.

End users are constantly seeking stimulation and excitement. This can come in a variety of different forms which can sometime mean a customer thinking ‘my favourite team is playing and I’ll place a bet while I’m playing casino’. Certainly we are seeing some operators are interested in a multi-channel and multi-product offer.

eGR: So what is Kambi’s main focus right now?

IF: When we are looking at multi-channel, which in our world view is the retail, tablet, mobile and web experience, we see that it should be a seamless experience. We strive toward that. The more seamless the user experience across channels the greater benefit there is to the operator no matter which segment they are in. For us, our focus in on making sure there is an exceptional end-to-end user experience and everything else comes after that.