The board of Kambi Group plc has appointed former Sportradar executive Werner Becher to succeed outgoing CEO Kristian Nylén in late July, the company announced.
The announcement comes after Kambi sports betting technology during the post-PASPA era.
Becher, a prominent executive at Sportradar, formerly served as managing director of the company’s U.S. division. From there, he became CEO of Sportradar’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Latin America business. Sportradar is one of the world’s largest sports betting data providers. On the league side, the company maintains a virtual duopoly in U.S. official sports betting data rights with archrival Genius Sports.
“I am honored to take on the position of CEO at Kambi Group, a company that has been at the forefront of this industry for many years and one which I have the utmost respect and iration for,” Becher said in a statement. “I Kambi at an exciting time in its evolution, as it continues to open up its service and widen its addressable market.”
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Nylén announced his planned departure in January, weeks before Kambi’s launch of Tzeract, a trading division powered by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Tzeract uses complex algorithms to enhance pricing mechanisms for personalized bets. During a comprehensive stress testing process, Tzeract facilitated approximately 300 million wagers in less than a year, according to the company.
Tzeract can also deliver precise margin pricing in conjunction with Kambi’s bet builder and cash out tools. Earlier this year, Kambi launched a partnership with kwiff to provide the European operator with its bet builder product. The partnership marked the first time that Kambi provided a company with the Tzeract product outside of its operator network.
While Kambi reached an agreement with PENN Entertainment two years ago to wind down its online sports betting partnership, the supplier still partners with PENN on the retail side. PENN announced the deal in Oct. 2022 as the company migrated to an in-house, online tech platform. Earlier this year, the parties extended a retail sports betting partnership until Dec. 31, 2025, replacing a prior agreement that was set to expire this month. PENN signed a groundbreaking deal with ESPN last summer that led to the formation of ESPN BET.
''Kambi has been a company I’ve long ired so to have the opportunity to build on the fantastic work carried out by Kristian [Nylén, CEO] over the years is incredibly exciting.''
Incoming CEO Werner Becher sat down with Kambi's media team to discuss his appointment and future… pic.twitter.com/JJ7TLnmvr7
— Kambi (@KambiSports) July 1, 2024
Kambi provides odds and risk-management services to more than 40 global sportsbooks, most notably Bally’s Corporation, Rush Street Interactive, and LeoVegas. Last May, Bally’s Corp. entered into a multi-year agreement with Kambi and White Hat Gaming to the relaunch of BetRivers Sportsbook. Kambi also provides in-game trading services to a host of tribal sportsbooks.
In May, Nylén was elected to the Kambi board at the company’s Annual General Meeting. Becher will succeed Nylén as CEO on July 25, one day after the company reports second-quarter earnings.
“We are delighted to welcome Werner Becher as the new CEO of Kambi. Werner is an exceptionally suitable successor to Kristian,” said Anders Ström, chair of the board and co-founder of Kambi. “With extensive industry experience, strong entrepreneurial spirit, proven business acumen, and exceptional drive, we are confident Werner is the right choice to lead Kambi into a new era.”
At Nasdaq Stockholm, Kambi Group plc traded at $104.70 on Tuesday, up fractionally on the session. Kambi is down about 37% year-to-date.
