Brazil’s ban on fixed-odds betting and online casino took over the Super CEO Panel at SBC Summit Lisbon on 29 September, as executives from Flutter International, Allwyn Digital and Betsson used the Super Stage session to criticise a measure signed four days earlier.
The panel, titled “The Industry Speaks”, was moderated by Dinos Stranomitis, Director and CEO of Altenar. It brought together Dieter John (Group CEO, FEG), Albert Simsensohn (Deputy CEO, Super Technologies), Kresimir Spajic (CEO, Allwyn Digital), Jesper Svensson (CEO, Betsson Group) and Tom Bowry (Chief Strategy Officer, Flutter International).
SBC built the session around AI, regulation, prediction markets, responsible growth and expansion into new markets. The timing put Brazil at the centre of it.
What Brazil has done
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Provisional Measure (MP) No. 1.394 on 25 September. It bans the operation, offer, intermediation and advertising of fixed-odds betting, including sports betting and online casino games, and took effect on publication. Licensed sites must go offline from 6 October.
An MP has the force of law immediately but is temporary. As Allwyn noted in its own disclosure, MP 1.394 stays in force for up to 120 days, plus any congressional recess, and lapses unless both houses of Congress ratify it.
The ban hits a market that opened on a regulated federal basis in January 2025, with each licensed operator paying R$30 million for its licence.
Flutter: prohibition “achieves none of those aims”
Bowry said Flutter was disappointed by the decision. The company had invested in Brazil to create a “sustainable, regulated, safe place for customers”, he told the audience.
“Prohibition achieves none of those aims.”
Allwyn: the ban “doesn’t resolve the problems”
Spajic said the measure took Allwyn by surprise.
“Making a measure like this doesn’t really help, it doesn’t resolve the problems.”
Allwyn’s Brazil exposure runs through Betano. The group owns 36.75% of Kaizen Gaming’s international business, and Brazil is Betano’s largest market. In a statement on 28 September, Allwyn said its previously communicated adjusted EBITDA margin of around 37% for 2026 no longer applies, and that Betano is preparing legal action to protect its rights under the five-year licence it received on 1 January 2025.
Betsson: a “trust issue”
Svensson described the decision as a “trust issue” for the industry and warned the effects would not be short-lived.
“…have a big impact … for a long period of time.”
Licensed operators paid R$30 million each less than two years ago, under the same government that has now banned the product. Svensson made a related point to SBC ahead of the summit, on tax:
“It is not sustainable for the regulated industry to absorb constantly rising taxes.”
AI, new markets and prediction markets
Detailed reporting on what the panel said about the rest of its agenda has not yet emerged. Several panellists set out their positions in SBC interviews published before the summit.
AI
Svensson told SBC in August that Betsson sees practical use cases already, and that the test is where the technology is applied.
“Everyone is exploring how AI can assist their business, and we are already seeing strong use cases. The key is using it where it actually adds value.”
Spajic, interviewed in July, listed the areas where Allwyn Digital sees AI working: personalisation, churn prediction, fraud detection, customer support, efficiency and player protection. He tied that work to regulation:
“Good regulation is what allows innovation to be sustainable. It protects players, creates trust and gives responsible operators certainty to invest.”
Choosing markets
Simsensohn, whose company rebranded from Superbet Group to Super Technologies in December 2025, set a hard entry test in an SBC interview published on 21 September:
“We only enter a market where we can see a sustainable path to the podium; if we cannot realistically become a top three operator, it is not for us.”
Super entered Brazil when the federal market opened in January 2025. In the same interview, Simsensohn said licensed operators need “a common position, held consistently” against illegal platforms. Brazil’s ban now tests that position, as the market’s licensed operators lose their legal route to customers.
Svensson’s view on expansion, given to SBC in August, follows the same market-by-market logic:
“It’s about finding those markets that balance a strong opportunity for growth with healthy regulation.”
Prediction markets
Prediction markets had their own track at Lisbon this year through SBC’s Global Prediction Markets Forum. Allwyn is the panel’s most direct link to the vertical: SBC News reported in July that the group has prediction market exposure through its PrizePicks acquisition and partnerships with Kalshi and Polymarket. Brazil has already moved against the product, with Anatel blocking prediction market platforms in April.
What happens next
Licensed Brazilian sites go dark on 6 October, two days after the first round of the presidential election. The industry’s response is now moving through the courts: the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) has asked Brazil’s Supreme Court to suspend the MP, and Betano is preparing its own action.
Congress has up to 120 days from signature to ratify MP 1.394 or let it lapse. Until it decides, operators that paid R$30 million each for federal licences cannot legally offer betting or online casino in Brazil.
Source: SBC Summit Lisbon 2026
