Some of the top U.S. sports betting operators are primed to expand into a lucrative Latin American country.
DraftKings, Hard Rock, and MGM are among a group of online sportsbooks looking at entry into Brazil’s new regulated gaming market, according to a Bloomberg report.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a bill into law in late 2023 that gives the country a regulatory framework for sports betting.
More than 130 companies have pre-registered for a license to operate fixed-odds sports wagering and iGaming in the future.
Brazil’s Finance Ministry is expected to begin introducing guidelines later this year.
Here come the big boys
DraftKings confirmed interest in the report.
“We are excited to see Brazil pass online gaming legislation, and as one of over 100 companies who submitted non-binding expressions of interest, we are continuing to explore the potential of expanding into Brazil in the future,” Griffin Finan, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for DraftKings, told Bloomberg in a statement.
MGM said during a February earnings call that it would indeed plan to launch in Brazil.
Hard Rock did not comment in the report but is expected to be on the list of companies exploring the market.
Land of opportunity
Brazil has developed into one of the most attractive gaming markets in the world, something established sports betting companies Entain, bet365, and Betfair have taken advantage of since sports betting was legalized in 2018, in a short amount of time.
With the popularity of soccer and growing interest in the NFL, Brazil landed 10th globally in 2022 with $1.5 billion in gross gaming revenue.
With regulatory gaming coming, it makes for a gold rush in Brazil. A $5.9-million license that must be renewed every five years will push out some of the smaller companies and allow for the global corporations that can afford the steep operating fees. A 12% gross gaming revenue tax also forces any operator to think wisely before entering this Latin American market.
