Playtech leadership has encouraged partners to exercise care when it comes to browsing unpredictable guidelines in core markets.

In the wake of its H1 financial report where it renewed its commitment to Latin American markets like Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, the B2B gambling group revealed some reservations about a list of proposed tax changes in the pertinent jurisdictions.

A major advancement for Playtech in Mexico saw the company acquire a 30.8% equity stake in local operator Caliente. SBC News spoke with both Playtech's CFO, Chris McGinnis, and CEO Mor Weizer, about the long-term prospects of this offer.

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While McGinnis emphasised the dedication of Playtech towards the Caliente collaboration and the development chances it provides, Weizer focused more on the quickly developing regulatory elements of the Mexican market.

While still under evaluation, a proposed legislation ahead of the 2026 Budget wishes to increase the existing GGR task from 30% to 50%. Weizer brought up examples from across Europe where tax hikes have actually triggered a reciprocal effect on the market.

"We have actually seen from worldwide developments like the Netherlands that increases in the gambling tax can have unintended consequences.

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

"While certainly we would choose the tax level in Mexico to remain the exact same, we can't truly predict what the impact a boost will have, and we are still in the procedure of examining."

LatAm stays strongly in Playtech's sights

Latin America has captured the attention of many video gaming firms, both B2B and B2C, with Brazil in particular seeing a rush of market entrants in the months considering that a managed wagering area was released in January.

Amidst this enjoyment, it is essential not to forget other Latin American markets, nevertheless, much of which are seeing similar changes to Europe around taxation. Taking a look at Colombia, similar propositions were tabled to make the temporary VAT tax a long-term charge.

While declaring that the nation remains a top priority for Playtech, Weizer also advised caution, outlining that the marketplace may end up being unsustainable for some operators if the government decides to go through with its decision.

In Brazil, Playtech profits showed to be unstable compared to other jurisdictions like the US and Canada, primarily due to the regulation of the market at the start of this year. However, Weizer remained confident that Playtech has acted accordingly, and that its local partners are now well positioned for sped up development.

"Brazil has the strictest set of policies worldwide, even when compared to the US, and they introduced a very strict onboarding process that at the start resulted in a high level of rejection rates," the CEO discussed.

"However, we now see GGR going back to very comparable levels to what we saw prior to the marketplace's policy. Estimates suggest a market price of $6bn by the end of this year, and an expected growth of 15% between now and 2030, reaching $17bn.

"While it took the marketplace some time to change to the new policies, I believe that from this point onwards we will see faster development. This is a really big chance for us. We think Brazil is one of the most promising countries for the video gaming market in the coming years."

Snaitech sale establishes B2B focus

Finally, Playtech's H1 business accounts were positively impacted by the sale of Snaitech to Flutter Entertainment, a big moment in the company's transition to an entirely B2B business.

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

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

"We've always had an M&A strategy. When we first acquired Snaitech, it was part of that method. We still have that and we're routinely looking at M&A chances.

"In regards to natural development, our service can money its growth, for example into markets like Brazil. With our balance sheet too, we're looking at capital allotment increasingly more closely.