Kambi’s Push into Canada Could Change Sports Betting Across the Country

Key Points

• Kambi entered into a multi-province deal with ALC and BCLC to provide a joint PROLINE sports book for seven provinces in Canada using both online and retail sales outlets.
• With this deal, Kambi is now well-positioned to reach nine of Canada’s ten provinces as the regulated betting market expands, following its existing deal with OLG for its PROLINE products.
• Provincial lotteries use the partnership to build a more unified betting experience while keeping local governance in place, as competition from private operators like Betway, DraftKings, and FanDuel pushes harder inside Canada’s growing sports betting market.

Canada’s sports betting market stopped moving one province at a time. A major agreement now ties lottery operators across most of the country under one sportsbook approach, and the moment it arrived carries weight. Private betting giants keep expanding through faster apps, live wagering, and promotions that grab attention, and provincial lotteries now prepare to meet that with something far more unified. Kambi is at the heart of this transition, and the scale of this move could define how sports betting evolves in Canada for decades to come.

Kambi Takes One of Canada’s Most Significant Lottery Sportsbook Deals

Swedish sportsbook technology provider Kambi secured a landmark agreement with Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), giving the company control over a large portion of Canada’s government-operated sports betting infrastructure. As per the deal, the Turnkey Sportsbook Platform from Kambi will be used for betting through both online and offline mediums under the brand name of PROLINE. It will be deployed in a wide range of Canadian provinces such as BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

That reach puts the deal among the most significant sportsbook partnerships Canada’s regulated betting sector has seen. The time factor is also an illustration of how quickly the nation’s gambling environment has evolved since the legalisation of sports betting on individual games in 2021. The online gambling industry generated close to $1.9 billion in revenue in 2025, with sports gambling emerging as the largest sector in the gambling environment of the country. Future projections suggest that the market size could reach approximately $5.7 billion by 2033, recording a growth rate of 14.8% annually.

These statistics will force provincial lottery providers to evolve faster than ever before, lest they allow private betting websites to have all the glory and innovation.

A Unified PROLINE Strategy Takes Shape

The agreement followed months of planning between ALC and BCLC after both organisations launched a Request for Proposal process in early 2025 for what they called a “National Sports Betting Solution.” Behind that process sat a target that carried commercial importance. Provincial lotteries wanted to build a consistent sportsbook experience across multiple provinces while keeping regulatory authority within each jurisdiction.

That distinction carries real meaning because Canada’s betting market remains highly fragmented. Ontario opened its iGaming sector to private operators, creating a commercially intense environment where international sportsbook brands compete hard. Other provinces still rely on crown corporations to run sports betting operations. Because of that, betting experiences across Canada have varied based on location.

In this new system, the use of Kambi’s common sports betting software and trading systems will bring about consistency in key business functions among the participating provinces. However, it is the provincial lottery operators who will govern these areas within their jurisdictions.

Scott Eagles, ALC Director of Sports Betting, said: “This collaboration represents an important step forward in how provincial lotteries work together to deliver a consistent, high-quality sports betting experience for players, while maintaining strong governance within each jurisdiction.”

He added: “Through this collective approach, we are focused on prioritising trust, integrity and player protection.”

Those words reflect a wider shift running through Canada’s gambling sector. Provincial lotteries no longer compete only against each other. They now work to keep pace with private sportsbooks built around live betting, mobile engagement, product updates that come fast, and user experiences that feel personal.

Kambi’s Footprint Across Canada Keeps Growing

The latest partnership builds on Kambi’s earlier agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s PROLINE sportsbook in January. Once the ALC and BCLC rollout becomes operational, Kambi will supply sportsbook technology across eight of Canada’s ten provinces. Ontario’s PROLINE platform will run separately from the shared ALC/BCLC structure, yet Kambi’s overall technological reach now places the company close to the heart of Canada’s regulated sports betting ecosystem.

Werner Becher, Chief Executive Officer of Kambi Group, called the agreement a sign that the company’s regulation-focused approach works. “Being selected to power this multi-province sportsbook solution is a strong endorsement of Kambi’s trusted technology, regulatory expertise and proven ability to deliver at scale,” Becher said.

During an earnings call, he also spoke to the importance of working inside regulated markets. “We would have no chance to win this deal having still a big grey-market footprint,” Becher stated.

This observation highlights a trend that is currently affecting the gambling industry in many parts of the world. There has been an increasing trend of considering the reputation of companies offering technological services based on their compliance with gambling regulations.

Private Sportsbooks Still Drive Most of the Innovation

Even as provincial lotteries build stronger sportsbook infrastructure, private operators hold much of the lead in innovation, particularly in Ontario. Betway, DraftKings, and FanDuel among other operators battle for market share using promotions, product innovation, and mobile marketing initiatives. The competition from these firms has compelled the provincial lotteries to become more aggressive.

Sports betting fans in Canada prefer sportsbook apps on their smartphones. Mobile sportsbooks offering live betting, micro-betting, streaming services, and payment wallets guide the adoption of sportsbooks by users. It has been observed that many bettors tend to change sportsbooks during promotional seasons, indicating that there is not much brand loyalty.

That creates an opening. But it also carries risk.

A stronger and more unified PROLINE platform could help lottery operators retain users who previously moved toward private sportsbooks for better digital experiences. Yet expectations across the market have shifted fast. Modern users measure every sportsbook against the fastest and most developed apps available.

Reliability alone no longer holds them.

For instance, Betway has created a reputation on account of stability, diverse betting opportunities, and performance in its sportsbook software. These standards have set the stage, and operators find themselves forced to meet them.

Regulation Keeps Shaping Each Province in a Different Way

One reason this agreement carries long-term strategic importance is that Canada’s sports betting structure remains deeply provincial. Ontario allows private sportsbook operators to compete in an open market. Alberta also appears set to move toward a regulated commercial iGaming market in the near future. Elsewhere, lottery corporations hold stronger control over sports betting.

Despite those regional differences, several national regulatory priorities continue shaping the market. Provinces hold strict advertising restrictions, apply rules around celebrity endorsements, require transparent odds presentation, and push responsible gambling measures such as deposit limits and self-exclusion systems.

For companies like Kambi, operating well inside that environment requires more than sportsbook technology. Regulatory adaptability has become just as valuable as product capability.

The company’s experience supporting lottery and state-owned operators globally played a major role during the selection process. Scott Eagles noted that Kambi’s “proven sportsbook technology, deep experience supporting lottery and state-owned operators, and ability to deliver across both digital and retail channels made them a strong partner to support our shared objectives and the long-term future of sports betting for Canadians.”

Could Québec Step into the System Later?

Even at its current size, the agreement leaves room to grow further. The original Request for Proposal allowed additional provincial operators to join the shared sportsbook platform at a later point, including the possibility of Québec participating through Loto-Québec.

Renaud Dugas, Director of Media Relations at Loto-Québec, confirmed that the option still stands. “It remains an option for Loto-Québec to join but there’s no update at the moment.”

If Québec eventually joins the framework, Kambi could become the sportsbook technology provider across all ten Canadian provinces. Such a development would significantly strengthen the company’s position across North America’s regulated betting sector.

Financial Results Add More Context to the Agreement

The Canadian partnership arrived alongside Kambi’s first-quarter financial results, giving further context to the company’s growing focus on institutional lottery partnerships. For the first quarter, Kambi generated revenues of €43.5 million, which was an increase of slightly over 4.9%. On the other hand, the Adjusted EBITDA recorded stood at €5.7 million. This is quite a positive development, compared to the previous year when the company recorded a negative Adjusted EBITDA of €3.5 million. For the year ending 2026, Kambi aims to hit an Adjusted EBITDA of between €20 million and €25 million for the entire year. Currently, sports betting providers are focusing on long-term cooperation with lottery operators and state-owned firms as opposed to the commercially-driven sportsbook market.

Becher described Kambi’s Canadian expansion alongside the new partnership with France’s Pari Mutuel Urbain as proof of the company’s “growing relevance among leading national and institutional operators.”

Expert View: Why This Agreement Could Shift Canada’s Betting Market

The deal goes well beyond a standard sportsbook technology migration. Provincial lotteries now move toward a collective scale rather than operating as separate competitors. Shared infrastructure lets participating provinces cut technology duplication costs while bringing more consistency to sportsbook products.

That matters because modern sportsbook development costs keep rising. Live betting systems, risk management tools, player personalisation features, and omnichannel integrations all need constant upgrades and long-term investment. Lotteries will be able to consolidate their technological backbone using the same platform while retaining control over compliance, branding, and operations at the local level.

The private sportsbooks in Canada have set the expectations for customers regarding mobile speed, live betting, and engagement. Provincial operators now try to answer that challenge together.

If the shared PROLINE structure succeeds, similar multi-jurisdiction sportsbook partnerships could appear in other regulated gambling markets globally. Kambi also gains something equally valuable, long-term institutional credibility.

Lottery partnerships generally provide more operational stability than purely commercial sportsbook deals, particularly as regulators continue tightening compliance standards around gambling worldwide. The company’s focus on regulated markets aligns more and more with the direction many governments appear to take.

But pressure does not go away.

A unified sportsbook platform will only succeed if the customer experience genuinely improves. Canadian bettors already have access to private sportsbook products that perform at a high level. If provincial operators fail to meet expectations around speed, interface quality, live betting depth, and promotional flexibility, standardisation alone may not stop users from moving toward commercial apps.

One more factor lies ahead.

Should Alberta move toward a more open commercial framework similar to Ontario, competitive intensity across Canada could accelerate further. Lotteries will then need to look into ways of improving efficiency alongside other things, such as innovation and retaining customers.