Kambi’s leadership is confident in the group’s prospects despite revenue falling during every quarter last year, although the firm remains profitable.
Group accounts for Q4 showed revenue of €42.7m, a decrease of 3.9% from €44.5m the year prior, while full-year revenue also declined by 8.2% from €176.4m to €162m.
In his CEO statement, Werner Bercher noted several challenges affecting Kambi last year, but expressed confidence that the firm had ‘was robust enough’ to withstand these hurdles.
Notable challenges included tax raises across multiple markets. Though not cited by the company, tax hikes in the Netherlands and France were notable last for biting into both operator and supplier bottom lines.
This can be seen clearly in Kambi’s results. Q4 profit dropped 10% to €4.1m (2024: €4.6m) and even more significantly full-year profit was down 56% to €8.1m (€18.8m).
Similarly, adjusted EBITDA was also down 12% in Q4 to €6.2m (€7.1m) and 39% to €15.5m (€25.3m) for the full year.
“As we reflect on 2025, I feel positive about the progress we are making and the direction of the business,” Bercher remarked.
“We also demonstrated that the business was robust enough to withstand the challenges that emerged, including new and increased taxes in several jurisdictions and FX pressures.
“I take confidence from how we ended the year, displaying signs that we are now turning the corner towards a period of gradual growth.”
During the firm’s Q4 conference call, CFO David Kenyon remained laconic when asked about the impact of taxes on the business: “There’s a long list of taxes, and it has affected us negatively. It does hurt us.”
Kambi batten down the hatches
As stated above, taxes have become a thorn in the side for many iGaming stakeholders across the European gaming landscape, and further afield with tax rumblings in key Latin American markets like Brazil, Peru, and now Colombia.
In Kambi’s case, the tax increases in France and the Netherlands directly impact two of its biggest partnerships – with France’s FDJ United and with Sweden’s LeoVegas, the latter being live in the Netherlands with both its flagship casino brand and BetMGM.
On the topic of these partnerships, while both remain core deals – the one with FDJ being expanded in November last year while the LeoVegas one was extended until 2027 – they will not last forever.
Both FDJ and LeoVegas intend to take their sportsbook platforms in-house in the near future. This will stand to deliver a hefty blow to Kambi’s revenue, which while remaining consistent was down in every quarter last year – down 4% in Q1, 11.5% in Q2 and 13% in Q3.
In all fairness, there were some tough comparatives last year, with betting volume around the FIFA Club World Cup paling in comparison to the huge turnover seen around the Euros and Copa America the year prior.
Regardless, Kambi is gearing up for changing paradigms. The firm has been investing in AI-powered pricing and trading, which Bercher states accounted ‘for nearly half of all bets across the network in 2025’.
The firm intends to fully roll out AI trading for the first time during the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place in June and July. Leadership noted that it expects a €5m revenue opportunity from the event alone this year.
Despite this investment in AI, costs were actually down last year – by 2.9% to €151.8m (€156.3m) to be exact.
Bercher remarked: “As one of the world’s largest sportsbooks, Kambi remains uniquely positioned to utilise the advantages of AI through our vast liquidity and data set, enabling our partners to compete in highly competitive markets with more accurate pricing, a more expansive offering and improved operator trading margins.”
Prediction markets on the cards?
Additionally, the CEO noted that Kambi will significantly increase its footprint in the Americas by the end of the year, as the markets there present opportunities very different to the ones in Europe.
“The [global] market is at an evolving phase. We’re still in a gold rush in South America. We also still see big movements in the US, and we have a lot of expectations specifically around prediction markets, it could speed up regulations in some states.
“In Europe the market is very mature, we can take some business away from other suppliers, but there’s not many other growth opportunities,” Bercher added.
However, a question on Kambi potentially licensing its AI pricing tech to help firms operating in the prediction markets space prompted Bercher to reply that his team will stay put for now, observing the space from the sides.
“We are not gonna do that in the short term. We have received very clear regulatory statements that if we go into it, there is a very high risk of losing licenses. It’s not on our agenda for the next few months.
“We will continue to monitor the space and court cases over the next few years. But our focus will for now remain on sports betting.”
2026 prospects and beyond
While the eventual migration of LeoVegas and FDJ will mean two key clients departing, Kambi has been busy securing various new ones on both sides of the Atlantic that will soften this blow.
This includes partnerships with Ontario Gaming and Lottery Corporation (OLG), ComeOn Group, and SuomiVeto, a newly launched venture targeting the Finnish market.
Kambi has offered a glimpse into its financial guidance for 2026, anticipating adjusted EBITDA in the range of €20m-€25m. Becher added that Kambi expects this to fall in the upper range if no new taxes on sports betting come into effect in Colombia.
Kambi’s CEO concluded: “This guidance reflects strong growth from new customers, offsetting the ongoing impact of certain customer migrations. This top-line growth will be further supported by a disciplined and increasingly efficient cost base against an inflationary backdrop.
“Looking ahead, the headwinds associated with the planned migrations of FDJ United and LeoVegas will continue, during which time we will focus on improving operational excellence, expanding our partner network and delivering AI-driven product innovation to increase profitability.
“Once through these headwinds, these initiatives will create a robust foundation that primes us for accelerated growth and greater shareholder value.”