LeoVegas Group launched its in-house Tiger sportsbook in the UK on Wednesday 5 August, migrating BetMGM, LeoVegas and BetUK onto the platform and making Britain the fourth market to run the product.
The launch is the clearest signal yet of how far the MGM Resorts International-owned operator has moved off third-party betting technology. Tiger went live in Denmark in July 2025, Brazil in January 2026 and Sweden earlier this year. The UK is the largest of the four by some distance.
LeoVegas said Tiger gives UK customers enhanced odds boosts, a partial cash-out option and a “flex combi” product for more flexible combination bets.
“This marks one of the most significant moments in our two-year journey to build a world-class, proprietary sportsbook. Every market launch has helped us refine the platform, improve the customer experience and strengthen our competitive edge,” said Adrian Vella, Chief Product and Technology Officer at LeoVegas Group.
Tiger came from Tipico, not from scratch
Tiger is not a ground-up build. The platform is the sportsbook technology LeoVegas and MGM Resorts acquired from German operator Tipico in 2024, when Tipico wound down its US business and sold the product and technology stack behind it. The deal also brought across Tipico US’s management and trading teams.
MGM Resorts said at the time that the acquisition would let LeoVegas run a purpose-built sportsbook across all its international markets and brands, with the exception of those exclusive to the US BetMGM joint venture with Entain. That carve-out still holds: in the US, BetMGM remains a 50/50 venture between MGM and Entain, while outside the US, BetMGM runs on LeoVegas technology.
An equities analyst told iGB at the time of the Tipico deal that it would “drastically shorten the timeline to LeoVegas gaining control over their tech stack, compared to developing these capabilities in-house”, and improve the group’s ability to start fast in newer markets such as Brazil.
The Kambi contract clock
LeoVegas has used fellow Swedish supplier Kambi as its main sportsbook provider since 2016. In July 2025 the two signed an extension of Kambi’s Turnkey Sportsbook contract running to 2027, explicitly framed as covering the period while LeoVegas transitions to its own platform.
That agreement came with a separate Odds Feed+ deal covering LeoVegas, BetMGM, BetUK and Expekt, which runs beyond 2027. The distinction matters for reading the relationship: LeoVegas is replacing Kambi’s full sportsbook, not necessarily its odds and trading data.
With four markets migrated and roughly 18 months left on the turnkey contract, the volume of business Kambi stands to lose from LeoVegas is now largely a question of how quickly the remaining brands and territories follow. Kambi is one of the largest B2B suppliers in the sector by revenue, and LeoVegas has been among its most visible customers.
A crowded market to launch into
The UK is Europe’s biggest regulated betting market and one of the five largest globally. UK Gambling Commission data showed online gross gambling yield rising 7% to £1.55bn in the regulator’s final quarterly market report, with remote betting a substantial share of that.
It is also the market where LeoVegas has the least room for product error. BetMGM launched in the UK in 2023 against incumbents including bet365, Flutter’s Sky Betting & Gaming and Paddy Power, and Entain, whose UK and Ireland business led its Q1 2026 growth.
“Launching our proprietary sportsbook, Tiger, in the UK is another huge milestone for the group. As one of the most competitive igaming markets in the world, I’m excited to see our customers enjoy the product and engage with some fantastic new sports betting features tailored specifically for the UK market,” said James Derbyshire, Sports Director for the UK and Ireland at LeoVegas Group.
The rollout has not been fast. More than a year passed between the Denmark launch and the UK go-live, and the integration was reported to have slipped. Vella told iGB in July 2025 that the group was running “a phased roll out [which] follows a planned sequence that allows us to ensure a seamless transition, rigorous testing, strong confidence in meeting regulatory obligations and continued focus on optimising the player experience”.
The next test is commercial rather than technical. LeoVegas now has to show that owning the stack produces better betting margins and retention than renting one did, and it has until 2027 to make that case before the Kambi arrangement lapses.
Source: LeoVegas Group
