Updated

Kristian Nylén

Swedish

Co-Founder
Kambi Group

Kristian Nylén was the CEO and Co-Founder of Kambi Group, a supplier that provides licensed B2C gaming operators with sports betting services. Nylén has served as the company’s CEO since its founding in 2010. However, on 8 January 2024, he stepped down as CEO to spend more time with his family, remaining on the Board.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS

Kambi is known as one of the significant sportsbook supplier companies in the industry. Four years after Nylén co-founded the company, it gained a listing on First North at Nasdaq Stockholm.

During the past several years, Nylén has led the supplier in a major Latin American expansion initiative. 

The Kambi Group has been active in Argentina since early 2021 when it launched in the Neuquén province with Casino Magic during the first quarter. The company also became the first sportsbook provider to operate in the city and region of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Kambi has also acquired two fellow suppliers: Shape Games (for €38.5m/$38.4m in September 2022) and Abios (for SEK 150m/$17.2m in cash, with up to SEK 120m to be paid in earnouts, in August 2021).

AWARDS

In 2023, Kambi won Online Sports Betting Supplier of the Year at the Global Gaming Awards 2023 under Nylén's leadership.

It has won several other Global Gaming Awards over the years.

EMPLOYMENT

Nylén has been with Kambi since he co-founded the group in 2010. 

Nylén joined Unibet in 2000 and by 2003 had assumed responsibility for Sportsbook Operations, joining the management team.

In 2009, he worked with some of the current Kambi management team on a business plan to launch an outsourced sportsbook and, upon the formation of Kambi in 2010, became CEO.

On 8 January 2024, it was announced that Nylén will step down as CEO, but had been proposed for election on the Kambi Board.

PRODUCTS LAUNCHED

Under Nylén's leadership, the sports betting supplier signed a multi-year agreement with player account management platform Ondiss. The deal allowed Kambi to provide its sportsbook in Argentina to “at least three operators on an exclusive basis.”

Per the terms of the agreement, BetWarrior, Casino Magic and Casino Club gained access to Kambi’s sportsbook, along with additional operators that are part of Ondiss’ network.

The deal with Ondiss will aid in the company’s continued expansion throughout Latin America.

Kambi has signed a number of agreements in Latin America, as well as several partnerships with tribes in North America.

However, previous big-name clients DraftKings and Penn Entertainment have both since terminated their contracts with Kambi.

 

“The decision to stand down from my position at Kambi after so many enjoyable years has been difficult, but one predominantly driven by my desire to spend more time with my young and growing family” Kristian Nylén

Interviews and public speeches

As early as 2019, Nylén spoke exclusively to Gambling Insider, confidently predicting the legalisation of mobile sports betting in New York.

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