CEO Special: Almir Ribeiro's passion for growth and the road ahead for BetMGM Brazil

Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that teach us the biggest lessons in life. A dog with a stick, a girl with a kite – or a boy with a ball.  

Core memories from childhood are, in essence, what shape us all. Habits, values and perceptions are set early in life only to solidify and become inescapable as time goes on. Sitting down with BetMGM Brazil CEO Almir Ribeiro, it is immediately evident that his passion for people and sheer fascination with the world around him was something instilled early in his life.  
Over the course of his career, Ribeiro has amassed more than 25 years of experience in business development within the digital industry.

His career prior to BetMGM includes roles at streaming companies in Brazil, such as TV Max, and he was responsible for developing Brazil’s first online betting product and operation, Betboo, which is now owned and operated by Entain. 
However, as with any story, the perfect place to start is (naturally) at the beginning. Indeed, in the case of Ribeiro, the beginnings were humble. He tells Global Gaming Insider... “I was born into a very simple family. My father and mother came from the countryside in Brazil. I was the first person in my family to graduate from university. My father worked a long way from home. He worked on construction projects in another state, where he was a construction foreman, so I didn’t have my father physically close to me.

“But my mother created this fantastic image of my father for me. He became my hero through the image she created. In reality, she was the great hero of my story because she was raising three children. I grew up in a house with three women, which I think was also very important in shaping me.”  

A boy with a ball 

Ribeiro speaks of a close-knit family behind closed doors when discussing his childhood. But his formative years appear to have been equally inspired by time spent with a ball at his feet: “When I was a boy, I played a lot of football. I was very good at it. I was way ahead of everyone else my age in my neighbourhood – and everyone was convinced I would become a professional footballer. I played for Corinthians, even though I’m a Palmeiras supporter.” 

For anyone in need of context, Corinthians is arguably the second or third-largest football club in Brazil and one of the most recognized sporting franchises on the whole South American continent. Earning a place in its youth team demands an enormous amount of talent, dedication and competitive spirit – all of which are of course also essential in business. Nevertheless, the lessons Ribeiro took away from this time were slightly different: “Because I was so much better than the other children, I was always put on the weaker team. Otherwise, the games would be unfair. 

“That helped shape me enormously. I didn’t realize it at the time, but today I can see how important it was. It taught me to help people and to facilitate things for them. Of course I wanted to win, but I wasn’t going to win on my own. I needed the team and I needed to make the team better. That was something that really marked my life.”  

Ribeiro also recounts a story of helping his neighbors remove dirt from their front lawn. After overhearing that they were planning to hire a tractor, he offered to work with a shovel in exchange for a football: “I’m very proud of that story from my childhood, because I feel as though it encapsulates how my youth influenced me.” From early on in the conversation, it is obvious Ribeiro values team effort over individual achievement, attributes not only inherited from his time on the football pitch, but also his military school education. He spent his teenage years in the Air Force preparatory school, the Escola Preparatória de Cadetes do Ar, before leaving home to eventually study law at university.  

“Initially, I actually studied engineering – but I hated the course. When I started working as a lawyer, I realized I was a mediocre lawyer – mediocre in the literal sense of being average. I was lucky to work with some very good people. But when the internet arrived, I fell in love with it. It may seem silly now but, at the time, even connecting to the internet seemed magical. I was desperate to be part of that environment. I knew I had to be involved with it somehow.”  

Into the working world

The journey out of education and into the world of work is different for everyone. For some, it’s born out of necessity; for others, it’s a slower integration. For Ribeiro, working through university was a means of ensuring financial independence, alongside professional and intellectual freedom. He may not have realized it at the time but, looking back, it’s clear he was always destined for entrepreneurship.  

“My first job came while I was at university. I worked with health insurance, handling medical accreditation in the countryside. I studied at night and worked during the day. I wanted that because I wanted my independence. I wanted my own money and didn’t want to depend on my parents, because things weren’t easy for them either. That was my first job and my first real work experience. But I just knew I needed to do something on the internet. I was completely obsessed with it.”

Evidently not one to sit on an idea, Ribeiro pushed forwards with his first-ever formal business venture TV Max – which he describes as “an absolutely crazy idea.”  

“TV Max was a venture that essentially looked to create YouTube in Brazil before YouTube existed. And doing it without money, so obviously it was going to fail – and it did.”  

It almost seems surprising to hear someone with a disposition as optimistic as Ribeiro’s describe this first foray into the world of entrepreneurship as a failure; not least because the way he frames the experience overall is one of an ultimately successful learning experience: “I learned a huge amount because we had to deal with new technology. Streaming was new at the time. Today it’s completely ordinary, but back then it wasn’t,” he reflects.

“I had to adapt that technology and try to sell it to companies. There was a huge amount of commercial learning involved. But it’s through mistakes that you grow. TV Max didn’t succeed, but it taught me an enormous amount. I developed the ability to understand technology, build a product, try to sell it, work with limited resources and still persevere. In the end, TV Max was an opportunity.”  

Brazil: The land of gaming opportunity

Prior to its formal regulation in 2025, Brazil was constantly referred to as the sleeping giant of gambling – and it’s easy to see why. A population of over 210 million, a fast-developing infrastructure and an unfettered cultural obsession with sport made it an eye-watering prospect for regulated operators across the globe.

For many years, however, this opportunity remained untapped. In 2018, during Michel Temer’s administration, Law No. 13,756 established fixed-odds betting as a lottery modality and set a two-year deadline, extendable for an equal period, for its regulation. As this process was not completed within the established timeframe, the regulatory framework only began to take shape at the end of 2023, with the enactment of Law No. 14,790.

From then on, the industry entered a new stage. Throughout 2024, the supplementary regulations and procedures required to implement the regulated market were established, leading up to full operational rollout in 2025 – and that was when the real work began. While international operators had already been present in Brazil since the market’s initial legalization in 2018, the introduction of this fully regulated framework attracted even more global players. Operators with the scale, structure and compliance capacity prepared to secure official licenses, and strengthen their long-term presence in this new landscape.

Rewind some years to 2002 and, during Ribeiro’s first entry into the gaming market, the LatAm landscape was still at an early stage of development, with business models, technologies and regulatory frameworks continuing to evolve. It was precisely the industry’s potential for transformation and growth that first attracted him to the sector. 

“What attracted me to gaming was that it was something completely new in South America at the time. I did some research into what the American market looked like then, and I had two insights,” Ribeiro explains. “First, it was possible to build something here. And second – and I don’t want this to sound pretentious, because it isn’t – when I looked at the market, I thought, ‘I can be the best.’ There was almost nothing here yet.”

As such, Ribeiro led the creation of Betboo through 2002 and 2003, helping to develop the first structured gaming affiliate marketing network in Latin America – scaling the brand during a time when digital advertising for gambling was essentially non-existent.  

As Betboo CEO, Ribeiro steered the brand through a period of aggressive user acquisition, molding the company into a regional powerhouse that made it one of the standout homegrown organizations in Brazil’s early betting landscape. 

It wasn’t long before people began paying attention and Betboo’s momentum caught the eye of European operators. In 2009, GVC Holdings (now Entain) acquired the business for a reported $4m. The acquisition gave GVC a foothold in Brazil that would eventually lead to Sportingbet becoming one of the group’s leading Latin American assets. Reflecting on the groundwork he helped lay in Latin American gambling in the modern era, Ribeiro returns to his mantra: “You don’t build anything alone. I may have been at the front of things, but the truth is the construction came from the team. It’s always about the team.” 

From the ground up

Ribeiro’s groundwork at Betboo established the template that would define much of his later career; building localized betting brands from the ground up in markets where global operators had little on-the-ground expertise. That track record is one of the reasons MGM Resorts turned to him more than two decades later to spearhead BetMGM’s entry into the newly regulated Brazilian market. 

Stepping into the role of CEO of BetMGM Brazil in February 2024, Ribeiro’s appointment coincided with the operator’s launch in the nation by way of collaboration with Grupo Globo – one of Brazil’s largest media companies. Despite his experience in Brazil, Ribeiro’s journey in the nation’s regulated market began on 1 January 2025 alongside everyone else’s.

Indeed, the CEO was bringing his expertise to a new landscape, which has continued to fizz and bubble with excitement and controversy in equal measure to this day – and the future remains uncertain: “Because this is a new regulation and a new environment, it’s completely fair that society is having a lot of discussions about it. I see that in a very positive way,” states Ribeiro. “A lot of things were done irresponsibly in the past, and the industry is paying a price for that. We now have regulation in place and it’s very good. It’s extremely modern. 

“At the same time, we’re still operating in a market where the illegal sector is very significant. It’s disproportionately large compared with other countries. The figures vary, but somewhere between 40% and 50% of the market is illegal. What I’d like to see is a more mature discussion in which we recognize the difference between regulated companies – which have clear responsible gaming policies, a genuine concern for customers, behavioral monitoring, limits and certified games – and a huge illegal market. 

“Our industry is the controlled alternative. It pays taxes, remains under government scrutiny and is constantly engaging with the Government about how it can improve. I believe that’s a much better path for Brazil. I think there are some good opportunities. There are sectors that haven’t yet been fully developed.” 

Leading by enthusiastic example

From the football pitch to the boardroom, everything Ribeiro has built throughout his career has placed an emphasis on teamwork. That said, he also sets high expectations for discipline from his staff, but primarily from himself: “I have a conviction that discipline eats, has breakfast and has lunch with talent every single day. Neither can truly exist without the other. But, in the end, nothing beats discipline. 

“I think that’s true for a company, for your personal life and for looking after your health. Discipline builds things. It really creates a better path. Without discipline, it’s impossible to prosper. Talent can carry you for a while, but if you don’t have a foundation of routine, consistency and doing the work every day, you won’t get there.”  

Ribeiro also underlines how his perception of being a good manager at the office has been influenced by significant developments in his home life over the years, including becoming a father. He highlights that, to lead, you eventually must become surplus to requirement at times – in order to allow people the space and opportunities to grow: “I genuinely believe being a good leader means becoming unnecessary at some point. It means removing the barriers that prevent your team from growing.

“My role is very much about removing obstacles and creating alignment around a vision. A leader needs to establish that alignment, but ultimately it’s about the team. I believe that’s true both of being a father and being a CEO. The best father and the best CEO is someone who eventually becomes unnecessary – when you see that your team or your children are capable of following their own path. 

“I will never understand people better than my Head of People. I won’t understand data better than my Head of Data. That’s not my role. My role is to align the vision and remove the obstacles. Ultimately, I like taking people from point A to point B, as long as I truly believe point B will be a better place.” 

An additional trait held by every successful CEO, although not outlined by Ribeiro, is an endless inquisitiveness with the world around them. This is something Ribeiro possesses in abundance. Ribeiro explains: “This is how I like to think about being a CEO: you’re doing something bigger, for something bigger. Of course, with lots of enthusiasm!”  

Despite his seniority within the BetMGM Brazil operation, Ribeiro is still very willing to learn – as he acknowledges the importance avoiding complacency and an overly authoritative approach: “I think the worst mistake someone can make when they enter a leadership position is to start acting as though they’re the boss. You can’t think, ‘I’m in charge now, so I’m going to do this or that.’ To lead an operation, whatever that operation may be, you can’t simply be comfortable. You have to try to be the best you can be.” 

A key facet of being willing to learn, he explains further, is being willing to get things wrong: “What brought you here won’t necessarily keep you here, so you have to be willing to take risks – and that means accepting the risk of making mistakes. You have to accept that risk because you will make mistakes. However, every interaction with the customer is an opportunity, even when they have a problem. Problems happen. That’s okay. How you deal with them says a lot about you.”  

The mountain won’t climb itself

There is perhaps no better metaphor for leadership than climbing a mountain. Both demand discipline, resilience and, perhaps most importantly, a willingness to keep moving when the path ahead becomes difficult. For Ribeiro, however, the connection between the two is far more than metaphorical.

“I’m very focused on physical activity. I need to exercise, and I do it every day – seven days a week,” he explains. “And I love mountaineering. I love being in the mountains. I joke that I train so that I can climb mountains – so that I’m fit enough to do it.”

That dedication to preparation mirrors the philosophy Ribeiro has already outlined when discussing his approach to leadership. For him, reaching the summit is never about a single moment of achievement, but the discipline required to get there. The parallels become even clearer when he reflects on the emotional reward of completing a climb.

“I feel like a better human being when I’m at the top of a mountain,” he says. “That’s why I love it so much.” 

His adventures have taken him to some of the world’s most challenging and spectacular landscapes, including Everest Base Camp, which he climbed with his daughter over nine days before making the five-day journey back down. He describes the experience simply as “a life journey” and one that he would recommend to anyone. 

Yet perhaps the most telling aspect of Ribeiro’s relationship with mountaineering is the way he carries its lessons back into his professional life. “I end up relating a lot of what happens there to my personal life because it’s a difficult path and you always have to keep moving upwards,” he muses. “You have to reach the top.” 

For a CEO, much like a mountaineer, reaching that summit is only possible through persistence, preparation and the people beside you. Ribeiro’s love of the mountains therefore feels less like a hobby and more like an extension of the philosophy that has guided his career: keep climbing, keep learning and never stop moving forward.  

For Ribeiro, however, the mountain is never truly conquered. Reaching one summit simply creates the opportunity to look towards the next, and as BetMGM Brazil continues to establish itself within Brazil’s maturing regulated market, his sights are already firmly fixed on what comes next. “Today, without a doubt, my driving force is taking BetMGM to the place it deserves to be. I wake up, have breakfast, lunch and dinner and go to sleep with that as my focus.” 

A true statement of intent, indeed, but perhaps one that makes sense given the scale of the challenge Ribeiro has already described. He further explains that BetMGM did not inherit an established Brazilian operation when it entered the regulated market. Instead, it had to construct one from the ground up – an experience Ribeiro sees as fundamental to understanding where the business can go next. 

“BetMGM is different from many others in Brazil because it only operates in regulated markets. It wasn’t here before,” he recalls. “That meant we literally started from zero.” 

Alas, starting from zero meant more than simply launching a betting brand. Ribeiro and his team had to “build an office, build a team from scratch, establish a culture from scratch and navigate a completely new regulatory environment”. Each element represented another part of the climb, requiring patience, preparation and a willingness to keep moving when the route ahead was unfamiliar. 

“All of that was a challenge,” Ribeiro reflects. Yet, as with his approach to mountaineering, it is the difficulty of the journey that appears to make the destination more meaningful. “I’m very proud of the path we’ve taken and of our responsible approach to the customer and their journey.” 

That concluding point perhaps offers the clearest indication of how Ribeiro sees the road ahead. The objective is not simply to reach the top as quickly as possible, but to build something capable of getting there the right way and, crucially, remain there for as long as possible. In a Brazilian market that is still finding its feet under regulation, the route upward will undoubtedly continue to throw out a landslide of new obstacles. 

For Ribeiro, though, that seems to be precisely the appeal. The summit may move further into the distance with every step, but his motivation remains unchanged: to keep climbing, keep learning and take BetMGM Brazil as high as he can.