Churchill Downs Inc. announced a new partnership Thursday intended to help grow its fledgling BetAmerica retail and online/mobile sportsbook brand.
Kambi Group plc and CDI made public their new deal, a multi-year agreement for Kambi to provide odds and lines for CDI’s sports betting product. Kambi, a service provider, has similar deals with other leading sportsbooks, including BetRivers and DraftKings.
The Louisville-based CDI offers legal sports betting in Indiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi (retail only). BetAmerica launched in the Hoosier State in late 2019, one of the early market entries.
BetAmerica is currently powered by SBTech, which in December reached a deal to be acquired by BetAmerica rival DraftKings. It’s unclear when the migration to Kambi will be complete for CDI.
“The deal will position BetAmerica to capitalize on its market access to offer Kambi’s industry leading online and on-property sports wagering experiences to new and existing players,” the Kambi-CDI presser stated. “BetAmerica will leverage Kambi’s sports betting offering with its integrated online gaming platform that will be powered by GAN’s U.S.-optimized enterprise software.”
Kambi was praised for its “secure and empowering technology providing the reliability and differentiation capabilities” in the legal real-money betting space.
“We believe the transition to Kambi and GAN as our new technology providers will enable our team to execute the roll-out of BetAmerica sportsbooks and iGaming product offering more efficiently as states move to legalize and implement regulations permitting sports betting and iGaming in the coming years,” CDI CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a statement. “BetAmerica will benefit from the proven excellence of these market-leading providers.”
Kambi expands U.S. footprint
Terms of the multi-year partnership between Kambi and CDI were not disclosed. The presser stated that the agreement is expected to have a “small positive impact on Kambi’s 2020 revenue” with the partnership having the potential to become a “material source of revenue over the course of the contract.”
Kambi has more than 20 customers globally, according to the company. In addition to its relationships with CDI, DraftKings, and Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers online sportsbook, Kambi works with Kindred Group, LeoVegas, and Penn National Gaming.
Its clients aren’t just commercial gambling firms. This summer, Kambi also reached a deal with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi’s Four Winds Casinos in Michigan. The Wolverine State is expected to launch online gambling in the coming months.
Kambi is losing DraftKings, however. The online/mobile sportsbook will migrate to its new proprietary technology, with the relationship with Kambi set to wrap up no earlier than Sept. 30, 2021. DraftKings and Kambi have been sports gambling partners since 2018.
