Playtech's CEO Mor Weizer announced that the company anticipates launching its operations in Brazil early next year, despite facing political challenges related to its partnership with Caixa, the Brazilian state-owned bank.
In 2025, Playtech formed an alliance to provide technology for the launch of Caixa’s betting services. Weizer has noted that the Caixa tender represents a significant opportunity for Playtech in the coming years.
However, Caixa has encountered political hurdles due to its status as a state-owned entity and the ongoing scrutiny regarding gambling regulations in Brazil. The launch has been delayed multiple times, even after Caixa has already submitted a BRL 30 million ($5.9 million) licensing fee.
Most recently, under pressure from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Caixa postponed its launch until at least 2027. With general elections approaching next month, Weizer indicated that this situation has contributed to the postponement of Playtech’s entry into the regulated Brazilian market, although he refrained from directly referencing Caixa as their client.
"I’ll be very, very open and straightforward about it," Weizer stated during Playtech’s post-Q2 earnings call. "There were certain concerns that because it is an election year, and obviously, gaming is a political issue… Given the sensitivity around that, we were kindly asked to collaborate with the government [and] with the prospective customer that we are in discussions with to wait until the elections."
Despite these setbacks, Weizer remained optimistic, asserting that expectations for reaching an agreement and launching next year have not changed.
Playtech’s CFO Chris McGinnis mentioned the Brazil opportunity could enhance the company’s outlook in the medium term. However, this venture was not factored into Playtech’s guidance established after their full-year results in March last year.
"At that point, we sort of knew about the opportunity, but it wasn’t specifically factored into the guidance necessarily," McGinnis explained. He indicated that a review of targets during the upcoming full-year results will allow for an explicit inclusion of Brazil in future estimates, bolstering the overall performance viewed by the market.
Additionally, the ongoing litigation between Evolution and Playtech was addressed, yet Weizer opted not to comment on the specifics. Playtech had employed the investigative firm Black Cube in 2020 to probe Evolution’s activities, which allegedly involved supplying games to banned markets. Since then, Evolution has pursued legal action against Black Cube and attempts to hold Playtech liable in the defamation case linked to this litigation.
Weizer reiterated the company’s legal constraints when pressed for more details, saying, “It’s very interesting. But as I’m sure you can understand, we are not going to answer any questions on litigation. We are under legal privilege and confidentiality rules, and we can’t simply take questions on the legal situation. We said what we needed to say following the Spectrum report being released earlier this week. So, that’s all I can say at this point in time. I have a lot to say, but I can’t.”
Despite the legal matters, Playtech reported a 10% year-on-year revenue increase in the first half of the year, totaling €425.1 million, buoyed by strong B2B growth in North America. Revenue from the U.S. and Canada surged 161% year-on-year, reaching €56.9 million, contributing to a 77% rise in adjusted EBITDA to €162.5 million, with B2B segments accounting for €128.1 million of that total.
