Entain chief expects Brazil betting market to reopen eventually

Entain's chief executive Stella David said on Thursday's third-quarter earnings call that she expects Brazil's regulated gambling market to reopen, weeks after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva imposed an immediate ban on licensed betting and gaming in the country.

Entain operates in Brazil through its SportingBet brand, one of several affected by the presidential provisional measure issued in late September. Brazil's Congress has yet to vote on whether that measure becomes permanent law, and the country's Supreme Federal Court has faced pressure to strike the ban down. iGaming Business has reported that thousands of local betting-sector employees have been left without work since the suspension took effect.

One scenario under discussion is a partial reopening limited to sports betting rather than the full regulated offering, according to iGaming Business.

David told analysts the outcome remained uncertain but that Entain was preparing for several possibilities. "Clearly, we don't know exactly what's going to happen," she said, adding that the provisional measure runs for 120 days before it is "ratified, changed, or revoked." Asked for her own view, she said: "I think the market will reopen in some form or another and we will be back there."

Entain reported that group net gaming revenue from Brazil fell 36% in the third quarter, a decline the company linked to deliberately restrained marketing spend and tighter player targeting ahead of the 25 September shutdown.

David said the group had already been pulling back from chasing volume in Brazil before the ban hit, a strategy she argued had limited Entain's exposure. "The fact that the market can be closed down with no notice does put you at a degree of risk if one doesn't take a sensible approach," she said.

That caution follows weaker figures reported in August, when David and chief financial officer Michael Snape disclosed that Brazil net gaming revenue had dropped 25% on a constant-currency basis across the first half, hit by what Snape called a "highly adverse" sports betting margin in the first quarter. Snape described trading conditions in Brazil at the time as "incredibly difficult and unpredictable" and said Entain had avoided escalating marketing spend to chase share, while hoping for a second-half recovery.

David pointed to SportingBet's long-standing presence in Brazil as a reason for confidence, noting the brand generates roughly 70% of its activity from sports betting. That positions it well, she argued, if the market returns in a sports-only form or under tighter advertising restrictions, given what she called its strong existing brand equity. She said Entain's priority on any return would be proportionate investment rather than rushing back at scale.

The disruption has weighed on group guidance: Entain said last month it now expects full-year earnings to land near the bottom of the range it had previously set out, spanning £910 million to £960 million. Stripping Brazil out of the picture, the group still expects online net gaming revenue growth for the full year to reach the upper end of a 5–7% constant-currency range.

Away from Brazil, UK and Ireland online net gaming revenue climbed 14% in the third quarter, ahead of Entain's own expectations, with volume up 15% despite unhelpful sports results. Group net gaming revenue rose 2% overall, with online revenue up 3%, or 5% when Brazil is excluded. David attributed the UK and Ireland gains to product upgrades including a refreshed Ladbrokes app and wider improvements across Coral and Ladbrokes that she said had been picked up in external benchmarking.

David also addressed speculation that the UK's machine games duty could double to 40% in the Autumn Budget, following calls from the Social Market Foundation think tank for higher taxation of retail gambling operations, warning such a change would carry consequences for the sector.