The network effect: How Kambi’s scale powers exponential value

Data is the lifeblood of modern sportsbooks, but only a select few have access to the volume and variety needed to truly be a market leader.

In today’s hyper-competitive sports betting landscape, understanding the player is everything. Yet delivering the kind of personalised, engaging user experiences that drive acquisition and retention isn’t possible without deep, continuous insight — and that insight starts with data.

As demand soars for complex markets like player props and bet builders, the need for vast, real-time data becomes even more critical. Yet for most operators, gathering and making sense of this data — let alone acting on it at scale — is out of reach.

Data-driven sportsbooks

In this context, there is an opportunity for sportsbooks to leverage an immense volume of data-gathering and analysis that would typically be beyond their capabilities.

Data-focused sportsbook supplier Kambi, for instance, generates a continuous stream of data from a geographically diverse network of approximately 50 partners across six continents and over 60 jurisdictions. Some €17 billion (£14.5 billion) in liquidity is processed through Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook product and more than a billion transactions are processed annually.

“This constant influx of information is the lifeblood of our operations, informing virtually every aspect of our offering.”

“This constant influx of information is the lifeblood of our operations, informing virtually every aspect of our offering,” said Sarah Robertson, Kambi’s chief commercial officer. “From making granular adjustments to individual odds for specific events to the overarching strategic decisions guiding our product development roadmap, the power of the network is crucial.”

Leveraging data for insights

The scale of Kambi’s network allows for comprehensive insights into bettor behaviours to be generated, all based on regional nuances.

According to Robertson, the granular and wide-ranging data that is generated via the global network is what gives Kambi’s partners a clear advantage when it comes to “understanding and catering to the diverse needs of the modern sports bettor”.

Furthermore, Robertson adds, the network provides benefits to all of the company’s operator partners, regardless of their scale, market maturity or brand recognition. This empowers each of Kambi’s partners with a sportsbook that allows them to compete with market leaders no matter their size.

“In practice, this means that even smaller or newer operators instantly gain access to a level of market intelligence that they would likely be unable to generate or afford to develop on their own,” she says.

“The more partners and players that are integrated into this ecosystem, the more valuable it becomes for each partner. This is a classic example of a network effect – as the network grows, the benefits for each member increase significantly.” 

Managing sportsbook risk using data

Through the network, sportsbooks can stay ahead of the curve and react fastest to the latest betting trends.

Kambi’s AI-powered pricing and trading division, Tzeract, instantly identifies subtle shifts in overall market sentiment, emerging betting patterns and potential risks associated with specific events or markets, with its algorithms automatically adjusting odds accordingly.

Additionally, the network data empowers operators to leverage the increasing popularity – particularly in high-growth markets – of in-play wagers, as well as the bet builders and player props that are driving growth markets.

However, while these types of bets are increasingly popular, they present complex challenges for providers. Not only are they difficult to price accurately and trade efficiently, but they are also challenging to manage from a risk perspective, due to the numerous, interrelated outcomes.

Robertson says the network effect comes in clutch here once again. “The sheer volume and diversity of data flowing through Kambi’s global network significantly enhances the accuracy of risk management for our operators.”

“By continuously observing and analysing betting patterns across a vast and diverse global player base, we gain a much broader and more comprehensive perspective than most individual operators working in isolation could achieve. This allows us to identify anomalies, outliers, and potential risks much earlier and more effectively.”

“We gain a much broader and more comprehensive perspective than most individual operators working in isolation could achieve.”

Kambi’s analysis of global betting patterns also means it can optimise trading strategies for each individual partner within the network, in line with their needs.

“We are able to tailor how we manage individual accounts and event limits in line with their brand and business strategy in any given market,” Robertson adds.

“Operators may want to focus on aggressive acquisition of customers, with more attractive pricing and limits. However, others may want a more conservative approach to running their sportsbook business. The value we derive from the Kambi network allows us to successfully enact any given strategy.”

AI-driven automation

As sportsbooks expand, the combination of network data and AI-driven automated technology can be leveraged to improve the quality and quantity of the offering through refined odds and improved margins.

“The impact of AI on our partners’ performance is substantial and demonstrably growing,” Robertson explains.

So far this year, over 30% of gross gaming revenue across Kambi’s operator network has been powered by AI-enabled pricing and trading – up from 21% in 2024 and 10% in 2023.

“By leveraging our vast dataset and our proprietary, cutting-edge AI technology, we can continuously and automatically adjust to evolving market conditions, ensuring more accurate odds creation and management,” Robertson says.

“This ultimately translates into significant advantages for our operators, including improved margins due to optimised pricing and a more competitive and attractive offering for their players through enhanced bet combinability.”

Innovation is key

In the evolving sports betting landscape, finding innovative solutions to stay on the front foot and avoid complacency is vital – including for top operators that have in-house technology but may be looking to outsource elements of their sportsbook.

From optimising the front-end user experience and designing promotional strategies, to ensuring seamless bet placements and managing the intricacies of risk modelling, Kambi’s network provides “the backbone” for a growing suite of modular services, according to Robertson, who highlights Kambi’s Odds Feed+ service as an example.

Odds Feed+ was unveiled as an addition to Kambi’s expanded portfolio of modular services in October, designed to integrate into any sportsbook via a single API, whether an operator is looking to expand its market offerings or simply improve the accuracy of the odds provided.

Meeting sportsbook compliance challenges

There are also crucial compliance challenges that can be addressed with the support of network-based insights delivered through Kambi’s flexible automated filtering technology.

“Our extensive global network provides us with a broad and in-depth understanding of the diverse, and often complex, regulatory requirements across numerous jurisdictions around the world,” Robertson says.

The globalisation of sports betting – and the well-documented, rapid growth of the vertical in key markets – means compliance is just one of the hurdles sportsbooks have to navigate if they are to be sustainable.

However, from a data perspective at least, across their range of in-house operational areas, they can find strength in numbers through a global network.

“Every single player interaction within our network, whether it’s a bet placed, or a selection added to a bet slip, contributes to a vast pool of data that benefits all Kambi partners,” Robertson says. “The Kambi network is greater than the sum of its individual parts.”