How operators can turn regulatory complexity into growth opportunities
Few areas of sports betting illustrate the pace of regulatory change better than the wave of NCAA player proposition betting restrictions across the US. As individual states introduce different rules – from outright bans in states such as Maryland and Ohio to restrictions that apply only to in-state colleges in New Jersey and New Hampshire – operators have had to respond quickly, ensuring betting markets remain compliant without disrupting the customer experience.
Yet the challenge extends far beyond US college sports, with operators facing an increasingly fragmented global regulatory landscape. Even where regulators share similar objectives, the rules and implementation timelines can vary significantly, leaving operators to navigate an increasingly complex web of market-specific requirements.
As a globally established sportsbook partner, Kambi has seen first-hand how regulatory change is reshaping the demands placed on operators and the wider gaming ecosystem. Indeed, ahead of launching in France, the supplier created a Regulatory Mapper which was designed with future markets in mind, enabling regulatory mapping to be reused as new jurisdictions regulate and helping reduce the effort required for future launches, if similar requirements appear again.
For Paul Finnigen, director of operational compliance at Kambi, the biggest challenge for operators is managing multiple layers of regulatory complexity at the same time. However, while keeping pace with regulatory change is undoubtedly demanding for operators, it need not become a barrier to growth.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen regulation become significantly more complex,” Finnigen tells iGB. “Regulators are placing greater emphasis on responsible gambling, reporting, technical certification, marketing restrictions and localised betting rules, with requirements continuing to evolve long after a market launches.”
Compliance as a competitive advantage
Kambi’s launch in France illustrates how a regulatory challenge can be transformed into an opportunity through a combination of expertise, technology and long-term planning. Rather than creating a one-off solution, the Regulatory Mapper tool ensures its sportsbook offering would be compliant with different regulations in different jurisdictions.
Alongside this, Kambi’s proprietary Dynamic Filtering Engine allows market availability to be configured quickly and consistently for each jurisdiction, enabling operators to manage the availability of sports, leagues, bet offers and players in line with nuanced local requirements.
‘When regulatory expertise is built into the platform and operating model, compliance becomes an enabler of growth’
Leading suppliers such as Kambi increasingly embed regulatory knowledge across their compliance, technology and operational functions, allowing regulatory requirements to be considered throughout product development and market-entry planning rather than treated as a final hurdle. Kambi’s SOC 1, ISO 27001 and WLA-SCS certifications also provide a strong foundation of independently validated controls, helping streamline certification and market-entry activities across multiple jurisdictions.
“Many of those regulatory capabilities have already been implemented and proven in practice before operators enter new markets,” Finnigen added.
“When regulatory expertise is built into the platform and operating model, compliance becomes an enabler of growth rather than simply a legal requirement. Operators can enter new markets more efficiently, respond more quickly to regulatory change and reduce the operational burden on their internal teams.”
Compliance may therefore be evolving from a necessary cost of doing business into a competitive advantage. For operators, the challenge is finding an operating model capable of delivering that advantage consistently across multiple jurisdictions. That is where Kambi believes its fully managed Turnkey Sportsbook comes into its own.
The case for a turnkey model
Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook is built on the premise that operators should not have to develop every sportsbook capability themselves. Rather than the expense of building an in-house platform or headache of coordinating multiple specialist suppliers, operators gain access to an end-to-end solution that combines trading, risk management and much of the underlying regulatory implementation within a single managed platform.
Integrating multiple suppliers may provide additional flexibility, however it requires operators to coordinate complex technology ecosystems, manage multiple integrations and continually invest in specialist expertise to keep pace with changing regulation and customer expectations.
“Our Turnkey Sportsbook removes much of the complexity associated with launching in regulated markets,” Finnigen notes. “Rather than coordinating multiple suppliers or building specialist sportsbook capabilities in-house, operators gain access to an end-to-end solution designed to support efficient market entry from day one.”
For Kambi, the benefits extend beyond launch. With trading, risk management and much of the underlying regulatory implementation taken care of, operators can devote more attention to building their brand, acquiring customers and tailoring their proposition to local markets.
“Having a single technology partner also simplifies day-to-day operations,” Finnigen added. “Operators don’t need to manage multiple integrations or coordinate different suppliers when requirements change, helping them launch more efficiently while delivering a consistent player experience across markets.”
Technology drives the next advantage
Regulatory expertise may help operators enter new markets, but long-term success depends on offering a differentiated sportsbook product once they arrive. Kambi has placed AI-powered trading at the heart of its sportsbook offering, particularly as sportsbooks seek to offer more personalised betting experiences and respond instantly to in-play events.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup provided a notable demonstration of that shift. Having previously announced plans to deploy fully AI-powered trading across the tournament – compared to around 60% prior – Kambi was able to provide its operator partners with the speed, accuracy and scale required to support increasingly dynamic betting markets.
“If operators want to scale successfully over the next five years, they’ll need technology that’s built to adapt”
The tournament also highlighted changing player behaviour. Across Kambi’s network in both mature and emerging markets, engagement with higher-margin products such as Bet Builder, Live Bet Builder and player proposition markets continued to grow as bettors sought more personalised ways to engage with matches.
According to Finnigen, Live Bet Builder alone accounted for 20% of all live bets during the tournament, compared with just 3% at the previous World Cup in 2022. Popular player markets, including ‘to score or assist’ and ‘player shots on target’, further underlined the importance of fast pricing, rapid bet settlement and an intuitive product experience.
Choosing the right partner
While regulation remains an immediate challenge for operators, Kambi believes the industry’s longer-term winners will be those that choose technology that keeps pace with shifting markets, customer expectations and competitive pressures.
“If operators want to scale successfully over the next five years, they’ll need technology that’s built to adapt,” Finnigen says. “Regulation will continue to evolve, so flexibility, scalability and compliance expertise need to be core selection criteria rather than afterthoughts.
“A platform should enable operators to enter new markets efficiently, implement regulatory changes with minimal disruption and deliver a consistent customer experience across jurisdictions.”
For Finnigen, adaptability will become the industry’s defining competitive advantage.
“Ultimately, the operators that succeed won’t simply be those that enter the most markets,” Finnigen added. “They’ll be the ones that integrate new technologies most effectively, using AI, automation and data to make better decisions, operate more efficiently and deliver experiences that keep players coming back.”