SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
BetMGM Brasil has now officially launched for customers in what is expected to become the biggest gambling market in Latin America.
The igaming and sports betting platform, owned by MGM Resorts International, was developed in collaboration with Grupo Globo – one of Brazil’s largest media companies.
MGM Resorts itself was approved for a license by the country’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) back in December when hundreds of international gambling companies had their applications reviewed ahead of the market’s January launch.
BetMGM Brasil will simultaneously serve sports betting, casino and live casino customers, adding live broadcasts to its offering. It already offers over a thousand games, with some products also licensed by Grupo Globo.
One of the games expected to launch soon is a nickel game, specifically tailored for local customers with elements from Globo’s fantasy football offering, Cartola FC. Speaking to InfoMoney, Almir Silva, CEO of BetMGM Brasil, added: “It can be done tomorrow, for example, with a soap opera that is a hit.”
MGM will leverage Grupo Globo’s media presence in Brazil to run a series of marketing campaigns promoting the new platform, running them across television, radio, cinema and Spotify communication channels starting mid-February. BetMGM Brazil will soon be also available for download from the local mobile store apps.
“I think we will be at the level of the main [advertisers], but I would not say that we are the main ones,” Silva additionally explained for InfoMoney.
In recent news, MGM Resorts released the financial results for its BetMGM (US) joint venture with Entain Plc, marking 2024 as a strategic year for investments into its online offering.
Despite H1 and H2 losses of $123m and $121m respectively, as well as a full-year EBITDA drop of $244m, the partners highlighted that BetMGM is on course to “break even” in 2025.
Igaming continues to hold the lion’s share of revenue, bringing BetMGM a net income of $1.47bn and EBITDA of $424m in 2024.
Although some international expansion might be scaled back this year, it is certain that Brazil will be a core market for MGM, with acquisition deals potentially lined up in the 2025 pipeline.
