As the industry attempts to regain its balance following President Lula's proposed betting ban in Brazil, some industry organizations have been left reeling.
Indeed, just 22 months ago in January 2025, Brazil opened its regulated online casino and sports betting markets to a swarm of global industry interest. Operators from overseas flocked to secure five-year licenses from the Brazilian authorities for a fee of BRL 30m ($5.78m).
At the time, the fee was noted by many in the industry as high, yet the tantalizing prospect of a regulated Brazilian marketplace proved a reasonable payoff for those looking to enter the market. Little did they know the five-year commitment they had paid for would run dry before the two-year mark.
Now, as the market appears to be hurtling toward a shutdown next week, the share prices of those overseas who committed to the market tell a troubling story.
MGM Resorts' shares have fallen 13.83% over the past five days, with the operator's BetMGM Brazil operation having taken flight in the regulated market over the past few years. Indeed, Global Gaming Insider sat down with BetMGM Brazil CEO Almir Ribeiro as part of the October CEO Special magazine.
Of course, MGM's share price drop is likely also affected by the news that the operator could now be weighing a takeover of People Inc, despite the latter having withdrawn its own $18bn takeover bid for MGM Resorts itself earlier last week.
Elsewhere, however, Flutter – which operates in Brazil via the Betnacional brand it specifically acquired for $350m to enter the market – has seen its share price drop 7.07% over the past five days as of the time of writing. Allwyn, which owns a 35% stake in Betano owner Kaizen Gaming, has also seen its shares drop 7.4% over the same period, with Entain down 7.69% and Kambi down 5.5%.
Allwyn and Betano are currently preparing legal action over the ban relating to its five-year license
