Kindred Group PLC announced that it has signed a new three-year agreement with long-term partner Kambi Group, providing Kindred with operational security of its sportsbook until the end of 2026.
In addition to the new agreement, and to fully deliver on its long-term strategy, Kindred is developing its proprietary Kindred Racing Platform (KRP) into a complete in-house sportsbook platform. Moving onto a proprietary sportsbook over time will enable Kindred to offer customers a unique end-to-end product experience, while securing greater control of the offering and improving operational efficiency.
Kindred already operates with a mix of suppliers across all product segments with nearly 40 percent of sportsbook gross winnings revenue in 2021 derived from proprietary products and in-house trading. Kindred’s sportsbook platform will combine in-house and third party products to ensure a first-class end-to-end customer experience while lowering the group’s supplier risk exposure. As such, Kambi’s high-quality technology and services will remain an integral part of Kindred’s sportsbook offering and Kindred will continue to work with Kambi to evolve the partnership both during and beyond the current contract period.
“As we increase our footprint across Europe, North America and Australia, and expand our revenue from locally regulated markets, we are taking a close look at how our product suite is set up,” said Henrik Tjärnström, CEO of Kindred Group. “Our award-winning Kindred Racing Platform, developed over the past eight years, is consistently performing above expectations, and has seen significant above-market growth since it was launched. We are excited to have taken this step and to develop it into a full sportsbook, while also securing a continued collaboration with our long-term and valued partner Kambi for the coming five years.
“The experienced team behind the Kindred Racing Platform, who built it with sports betting in mind from the start, are well into the process of expanding the platform into an in-house controlled sportsbook platform. Following the Relax Gaming acquisition in 2021 this is the next step in our long-term strategy of securing greater product control.”
Kristian Nylén, CEO and co-founder, Kambi Group, said, “Kambi and Kindred continue to enjoy a fantastic relationship, and I’m delighted this agreement sees both parties to commit until 2026. Kambi prides itself on being the key enabler for visionary operators in regulated markets across the world, and we look forward to supporting Kindred with our modularized sportsbook technology and services over the next five years.”
Kindred’s total sportsbook-related workforce today consists of approximately 200 employees and is expected to double in the period as it rolls out across selected markets. The in-house sportsbook provides a significant future profitability improvement potential through operational efficiency, a highly scalable and localized product offering, and the ability to fully control targeted trading and customer experience considerations.
