Flutter ponders Brazil appeal as operators consider fighting back
Flutter Entertainment is considering a legal challenge to Brazil’s shock online gambling ban as some of the world’s biggest betting companies begin putting numbers on what the country’s sudden market closure will cost them.
Flutter said the prohibition could reduce its 2026 revenue by approximately $70 million and adjusted EBITDA by about $20 million if the shutdown remains in place.
MORE: Gambling in Brazil
The company, which controls Betnacional in Brazil and operates Betfair, said it was examining its options.
“Flutter is extremely disappointed by this development and is reviewing all available options, including the potential to appeal,” the company said.
The response is the first clear indication that Brazil could face a legal fight from major operators following President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s extraordinary decision to dismantle a regulated online gambling market launched only in January 2025.
Brazil’s provisional measure revokes online betting licences and prohibits online sports betting and casino gaming, with it taking immediate effect but must receive congressional approval within 120 days to remain in force.
The financial exposure varies substantially between operators.
Brazil accounted for only around 1% of Flutter’s total revenue at the end of 2025, limiting the immediate group-level damage despite the company’s significant investment in the market.
For Entain, Brazil was expected to represent approximately 5% of online net gaming revenue in 2026, with the company having brands like Ladbrokes and Sportingbet, in a market they consider important to their growth.
The company now expects online NGR growth of between 4% and 6% in 2026 if the Brazilian prohibition remains in place.
Without the Brazilian shutdown, Entain says online growth would remain at the upper end of its previous 5%-7% constant-currency guidance.
Its underlying EBITDA guidance remains between £910 million and £960 million, although the company now expects results towards the lower end of that range.
Lottery and betting group Allwyn has gone further, withdrawing its annual profit-margin guidance following the ban.
The immediate profit impact for some operators is smaller than the headlines might suggest because companies were still spending heavily to establish themselves in Brazil.
The greater loss could be longer term.
Brazil has a population exceeding 200 million and quickly emerged as one of the international gambling industry’s most coveted regulated markets.
The industry’s attention now shifts to two fronts: whether operators challenge the measure through Brazil’s courts and whether Congress allows the prohibition to survive its 120-day approval period.
