Kambi Commits to 100% AI-Traded World Cup as Q1 Bet Automation Hits 60%

Regulated B2B sportsbook supplier Kambi reported Q1 2026 EBITDA up 63.5% on the year. CEO Werner Bercher repeated his assertion that the entire 2026 FIFA World Cup will be priced and risk-managed by its AI trading system, with a new data point supporting his statement – Q1 bet automation is already at 60% across the company’s global network.

Key Takeaways:

• Kambi Q1 2026 revenue rose 4.9% to €43.5 million, EBITDA jumped 63.5% to €5.7 million.
• 60% of Q1 bets across the network were priced and traded by AI, up from 49% in 2025.
• CEO Werner Becher confirmed full automation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a first for the supplier.

Q1 results show €43.5M revenue and €5.7M EBITDA

Kambi released its Q1 2026 report on Wednesday morning, with revenue at €43.5 million, operating profit at €4.2 million, and EBITDA up sharply year-on-year. CEO Werner Becher framed the quarter as evidence that the supplier has returned to growth after a difficult 2025 marked by major customer migrations.

In an interview with NEXT.io published alongside the results, Becher said the FIFA World Cup itself will be 100% AI-traded, making it the first major global tournament fully automated across pricing and risk management on the network. The Q1 bet automation figure is the headline operational milestone, having crossed 50% in January and reached 60% for the full quarter. Rollouts are now extending to tennis, basketball, and ice hockey after football reached full AI coverage earlier in the year.

PMU, the French horse racing monopoly, launched on Kambi several weeks ago and is “performing very well,” according to Becher. Atlantic Lottery and British Columbia Lottery both selected Kambi as their sportsbook supplier this week, taking the company’s presence live in seven of Canada’s ten provinces.

Becher dismissed prediction markets as a strategic concern, saying the platforms have shown “no material impact” on Kambi’s business in regulated US states. The position contrasts with the broader regulatory pressure prediction-markets operators face from state attorneys general and the American Gaming Association, which has called the fight against unregulated event contracts a defining one for the licensed industry.

Kambi has previously claimed it received explicit regulatory warnings that entering prediction markets would jeopardize its licensing in multiple US jurisdictions.