Kambi Group announced that Werner Becher (formerly Sportradar) has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Kambi Group.
Becher is set to take the helm of Kambi as soon as the Q2 results are released on the 25th July. Kristian Nylen’s departure, confirmed by the company in January after it spun off Kindred Group, was replaced by Becher.
Becher, an experienced executive who has served most recently as the CEO of Sportradar for EMEA and LatAm, joins Kambi. Becher worked for the company over three years before leaving in December 2022.
Becher was also the managing director for Sportradar’s US betting division during his tenure with them.
Becher served as CEO of Interwetten between November 2011 and Decembre 2018 for 7 years. Becher began his career as a tech consultant, working for DXC Technology and founding two companies – Adesso Austria & Cob@Web.
Becher leads Kambi into new, modular era
Kambi is undergoing a major overhaul to its entire product range. It will move away from an all-in-one solution and towards a modular approach, divided into several divisions.
It will also offer front-end solutions via Shape Games (which it acquired in 2022 for EUR38.5m), and esports technology through Abios which it purchased in 2021. Tzeract is its AI-powered trading division, launched in the first half of this year.
As the sportsbook industry changes, so do the types of deals that are available. To take control of their tech stack, multiple operators acquired sportsbook software or built it themselves.
DraftKings will be the first of many Kambi customers to join this list in 2022. The supplier hopes to increase the number of clients it can serve by adopting a flexible strategy. It also wants to continue to be a major supplier for the biggest brands in the sports industry.
Kambi Chair: Becher is “the right selection” for the new era
Anders Strom, the chairman of the board, described Becher’s appointment as “a very suitable successor” to Kristian Nylen.
Strom stated that Werner was the best choice for Kambi to enter a new age. He has extensive experience in his industry, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrates exemplary drive.
Becher said he felt “every bit of respect and admiration for Kambi” as he became the CEO.
I am excited to be joining Kambi during this exciting period of its development. The company continues to expand its market and open its services. “I am eager to collaborate with our board of directors, executive team and talented employees around the globe to take advantage of the amazing opportunities that lie ahead.”
Kambi has mixed results in Q1
Becher is joining Kambi once the Q2 results are published. The group is hoping to achieve better results in Q2 than they did during the first quarter.
The first-quarter revenue of EUR43.2m was down by 1.8% compared to the EUR44.0m that Kambi reported in Q1 2013.
This decline is in line with Kambi’s expectations. The company also noted that the move of Penn’s Online Business in July 2023 would have a significant impact.
In terms of the entire year, 2024 is expected to be “transitional”. It again highlighted Penn Online migration and the delayed regulation of Brazil’s market as factors that would impact the performance. It also highlighted renewed contracts with Kindred, among other partners.
Kambi projects that revenue in 2024 will be somewhere between EUR170.0m to EUR180.0m. According to the group, revenue generated by recent partners signings will likely materialise at the end of this year. This is in addition to the organic growth that has been achieved with existing partners.
