Shares in Kambi were up 3% to SEK 208 ($22.50) this morning, after the supplier announced a 22% revenue increase to €76.2m ($86.3m) for 2018.

Operating margin was 16.7%, up from 12.4%, while result after tax went up 66% to €9.8m.

Earnings per share ascended 65% to €0.326m.

US expansion played a key part in Kambi’s growth last year, as the supplier took the first online sports bet in New Jersey in August through its partnership with DraftKings.

Revenue for Q4 was €21.7m, up 14% year-on-year, although this was only a mild increase on Q3’s €20.5m revenue.

A key difference in Q4 though was the NFL season was in full swing, whereas the season started in Q3.

Highlights in Q4 included the launch of land-based sportsbooks with DraftKings at Resorts Casino in New Jersey and with Rush Street Interactive at two casinos in Pennsylvania.

Kambi also received a license to operate in Mississippi in October and a temporary permit from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Kambi is also licensed in West Virginia.

Kristian Nylén, Kambi CEO, said: “With the US market high on Kambi’s priority list, our ability to demonstrate our high-quality on-property sportsbook and prompt time-to-market leaves us well-placed moving forward, particularly considering the emphasis US operators and state regulators place on the retail channel.”

Kambi said it anticipates the number of states to pass sports betting bills could double to 12 by this time next year, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Since the end of 2018, seven Kambi customers launched in the re-regulated Swedish market, including ATG, while Kambi also launched a land-based sportsbook at Parx Casino in Pennsylvania.

Kambi announced earlier this month it had agreed a deal with Rhinoceros Operations, owner of Mybet, to relaunch the brand in the online German market in the coming months.

Nylén will be speaking exclusively to Gambling Insider about the results later today.