EGR Latin America Report June 2024

When Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, finally gave the green light to regulate sports betting and online games of chance in December 2023, it set the wheels in motion for one of the world’s largest regulated online gambling markets.

With the Ministry of Finance putting the final touches on the framework, the market is expected to go live in Q4 2024, with anticipation ramping up across the sector.

While some operators are scaling back operations or exiting the maturing US with its state-by-state legalisation, others will certainly have Latin America on their agendas.

And, with H2 Gambling Capital previously projecting that the first full year of legal sports betting in Brazil could achieve GGR of BRL3.7bn, it’s no wonder operators, suppliers and affiliates want a piece of the pie. Whether they do that organically or snap up local heroes to accelerate their growth is yet to be seen.

But of course, it isn’t all about Brazil. Regulatory changes in Peru and Chile are drawing attention, while President Javier Milei has raised eyebrows in partially regulated Argentina with his economic approach, including crashing the peso.

Meanwhile, Mexico and Colombia are performing well as regulated markets, providing a useful barometer to measure the demand for online gambling across the region.

In these pages, we analyse the emerging markets and evolving regulatory frameworks, as well as share our partners’ insights on best practice for operations, whether that be licensing, payments processes or customisation for different cultures and player preferences.

As for our in-person presence in Latam, EGR continues to monitor and connect with the market through its Power Latam events held twice yearly. This December, we’ll host an event in Rio de Janeiro and, in the new year, we’ll return to Buenos Aires for more content sharing and networking.