Kambi SVP Trading Simon Noy speaks exclusively to Gambling Insider about Game Parlays, the group’s new offering in parlay betting.

Kambi has stated that approx. 50% of sports betting revenue comes from parlays in multiple states. Can you elaborate a bit more on those statistics?

Simon Noy (SN): As the US sports betting market matures, the demand for greater combinability continues to increase, and we’ve seen a significant uptick in the number of parlay bets placed in multiple states, with New Jersey reporting that c.50% of revenue is derived from parlay betting. Operators and sportsbook providers are aware that parlays are becoming an important tool for delivering higher margins compared to single bets, which is why so many betting companies have gone beyond traditional parlays by enabling players to parlay multiple bets within the same game.

At Kambi, we have taken this a step even further with the launch of Game Parlays, which lets bettors combine main and player prop bets within a single game and, for the first time, across multiple games. This ability to combine bets across different games is unique to Kambi, as is our decision to build the technical infrastructure required as part of the existing sportsbook, rather than bolting on a third-party product.

How does the popularity of parlays vary across different US sports?

SN: The football season has always been a huge part of our US partners’ success, especially after the summer months which are usually a much quieter time in the sporting calendar. The popularity of parlays in the US has been growing at an incredible rate, and we were delighted to be able to offer the next natural step in parlay betting in time for the new football season with Game Parlays. 

In the early weeks of the season, the popularity of Game Parlays is already making an impact, with approximately 35% of NFL bettors engaging with the product. Furthermore, around 37% of Game Parlay bets were placed across more than one game – something none of our competitors are currently able to offer.

As players become more acclimated with the possibilities that Game Parlays has to offer, those figures will only continue to grow. The product will also constantly be improved in-house to expand our offering by enabling bettors to combine their bets across different sports such as basketball, baseball, and ice hockey, so that they have virtually limitless betting combination options at their fingertips.

The popularity of parlays in the US has been growing at an incredible rate, and we were delighted to be able to offer the next natural step in parlay betting in time for the new football season with Game Parlays

What kind of stake size is most common for parlays?

SN: Similar to the rest of the product, as odds increase stake sizing typically decreases on average, so players tend to place smaller stakes when creating a parlay. Of course, it also depends on the size of the parlay that is being placed, and different bettors also have different preferences. Because we built the whole product in-house and integrated it into the core sportsbook, we have the confidence to not only have a strong user experience in terms of the product being seamless in the UI, but also by offering attractive odds and betting limits, in line with partner appetite.

What targets have you set when it comes to the Game Parlays product specifically?

SN: I naturally can’t share our specific company goals for Game Parlays, but what I can say is that we are delighted to already be hitting many of our key internal targets such as revenue, margin and the percentage of players who have placed a Game Parlay. We are also on track to deliver on our target of the number of offers combinable via Game Parlays so that players have even more betting options. As I mentioned previously, Kambi has seen a strong take up over the opening weeks of the NFL season, and we only expect that to increase as the offering improves and our partners increase their marketing of the product over the coming weeks and months.