Regulators approve Nevada licenses for Kambi, Bally's new B2B sportsbook partner in the state

Following an 80-minute hearing, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved Thursday several licenses for Kambi Group, the Malta-based sportsbook company set to support Nevada's Bally's Corp. properties with its business-to-business solutions. Kambi has around 50 U.S.-based employees and processes over one billion wagers a year.

Kambi provides software and maintains the sports betting platforms of the regulated operators it serves on a B2B basis, rather than serving consumers directly. Established in 2010, the company supports over 40 operators in more than 50 global markets. Most of the supplier's executive team is based in Sweden.

Executives for Kambi told Nevada regulators that while on a global basis they mostly support operators that take wagers on soccer, tennis, basketball, and eSports, the United States presents a different scenario. In the U.S., where Kambi's presence includes states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the company capitalizes mostly on the betting interest that surrounds American football.

In Nevada, Kambi's top customer is Bally's, which operates a casino at Lake Tahoe. There are no immediate plans for future Bally's developments in Vegas, a company representative said at the meeting, although the operator had previously discussed developing a resort at the former site of the Tropicana, which was demolished to pave the way for the construction of a new stadium for the MLB's Athletics.

During Thursday's hearing, commissioners interviewed several Kambi executives, who were lauded for attending Control Board and commission hearings in person two weeks apart. 

Conducted at Boulder City Hall, the meeting featured the attendance of Reno attorney Changeni Sendall, the newest Nevada Gaming Control Board member. Sendall was appointed by Gov. Joe Lombardo one day earlier, on Wednesday.