Playtech leadership has actually encouraged partners to exercise care when it pertains to navigating unstable policies in core markets.

In the wake of its H1 monetary report where it restored its commitment to Latin American markets like Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, the B2B gambling group expressed some appointments about a list of proposed tax modifications in the pertinent jurisdictions.

A significant development for Playtech in Mexico saw the company acquire a 30.8% equity stake in regional operator Caliente. SBC News spoke to both Playtech's CFO, Chris McGinnis, and CEO Mor Weizer, about the long-term potential customers of this offer.

Handling the tax expenses

While McGinnis stressed the dedication of Playtech towards the Caliente partnership and the growth opportunities it supplies, Weizer focused more on the rapidly progressing regulatory aspects of the Mexican market.

While still under review, a proposed legislation ahead of the 2026 Budget desires to increase the existing GGR duty from 30% to 50%. Weizer brought up examples from across Europe where tax hikes have actually triggered a mutual impact on the marketplace.

"We have actually seen from global developments like the Netherlands that increases in the betting tax can have unintentional repercussions.

"There, this has actually caused a decrease in marketing financial investments and some operators leaving the market, along with an increased activity of uncontrolled platforms.

"While clearly we would prefer the tax level in Mexico to stay the very same, we can't really predict what the impact an increase will have, and we are still in the procedure of examining."

LatAm remains securely in Playtech's sights

Latin America has captured the attention of lots of video gaming firms, both B2B and B2C, with Brazil in specific seeing a rush of market entrants in the months given that a regulated wagering space was introduced in January.

Amidst this excitement, it is essential not to forget other Latin American markets, however, a lot of which are seeing comparable changes to Europe around tax. Looking at Colombia, similar propositions were tabled to make the momentary VAT tax a .

While declaring that the nation stays a top priority for Playtech, Weizer also recommended care, laying out that the market may become unsustainable for some operators if the federal government chooses to go through with its choice.

In Brazil, Playtech income showed to be volatile compared to other jurisdictions like the US and Canada, generally due to the policy of the marketplace at the start of this year. However, Weizer remained positive that Playtech has acted accordingly, which its local partners are now well positioned for accelerated development.

"Brazil has the strictest set of guidelines worldwide, even when compared to the US, and they presented an extremely stringent onboarding process that at the start resulted in a high level of rejection rates," the CEO discussed.

"However, we now see GGR returning to extremely comparable levels to what we saw prior to the marketplace's regulation. Estimates recommend a market worth of $6bn by the end of this year, and an expected growth of 15% between now and 2030, reaching $17bn.

"While it took the market a long time to adapt to the new regulations, I believe that from this point onwards we will see accelerated growth. This is a huge opportunity for us. We believe Brazil is among the most promising countries for the gaming industry in the coming years."

Snaitech sale establishes B2B focus

Finally, Playtech's H1 corporate accounts were positively affected by the sale of Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment, a huge moment in the business's shift to an exclusively B2B enterprise.

When asked by SBC News about how Playtech intends to prioritise the deployment of newly-acquired capital, McGinnis included that whatever is on the table - from M&A to investor returns.

"We have an extremely strong balance sheet and I think the very best thing that it does is give us versatility that we can look into all of these choices," the CFO said.

"We've constantly had an M&A strategy. When we first acquired Snaitech, it belonged to that technique. We still have that and we're routinely looking at M&An opportunities.

"In regards to organic growth, our organization can money its growth, for example into markets like Brazil. With our balance sheet too, we're looking at capital allowance a growing number of carefully.