Evolution CEO says Brazil betting ban is a “total negative” as company awaits Supreme Federal Court ruling

Brazil’s abrupt ban on licensed betting has left Evolution’s local studio temporarily closed and the company waiting for clarity on whether the move will survive in court. The issue matters beyond one country: for PSPs and suppliers in high-risk, this is the part where regulatory frameworks can change faster than the operating model.

1. Evolution CEO Martin Carlesund said Brazil’s sudden ban on gambling was a “total negative” for the industry and that “everyone is flabbergasted about the situation in Brazil.” He added that “a populist agenda can overthrow a regulatory framework that has only been in place for a year and a half.”
2. In late September, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a ban on gambling in Brazil, despite less than two years having passed since the regulated online market launched. Evolution has temporarily closed its studio in Brazil, which it launched in São Paulo last year.
3. The Brazilian betting sector is now waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Federal Court on whether Lula’s ban was unconstitutional. Carlesund said the closed studio was ready to reopen on short notice, and that Evolution was “ready to accelerate” in Brazil if the court allows it.
4. On the earnings call, Carlesund said Evolution’s Brazil revenue is not “ring fenced,” and that the company will monitor what happens with players in the market. He also said, “No one really knows what will happen. It could be reopened again.”
5. Despite the uncertainty, Evolution kept its full-year margin guidance unchanged. The company’s Q3 net revenue rose 3.7% year-on-year to €526.1 million ($585.2 million), while adjusted EBITDA increased 2.7% to €345.9 million.

Latin America was one of Evolution’s stronger regions in Q3, with revenue up 23.1% year-on-year, though that figure did not include the impact of Brazil’s suspension, which came into force in early October. Europe, by contrast, grew just 0.4% quarter-on-quarter and fell 4.7% year-on-year, and Carlesund called the region’s performance “not exciting.”