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Where does the Sport of Kings fit into the Brazilian market?
With a regulated Brazil now in sight, Richard Duncan, Head of Business Development at racing odds and data provider PA Betting Services, assesses the potential for the sport to become a key product in this emerging market
With the last few months having seen Brazil’s sports betting bill clear all the hurdles needed to finally be signed into law, many in the sports betting world have understandably taken a keen interest in the possibilities offered by South America’s largest country.
The home of footballing greats Pelé and Ronaldo and boasting more World Cup titles than any other country, Brazil’s passion for and the resulting potential of football betting is clear. There are a number of parallels to be drawn between a market such as the UK and Brazil when it comes to football. For one thing, the similar level of devotion among the fan base looks set to ensure that football will easily remain the biggest betting turnover generator in Brazil, as it is in the UK.
What’s less clear is how likely racing is to come anywhere near the second place it holds in the UK market, where it accounted for 36% of remote betting turnover in the last set of official Gambling Commission statistics. However, there are a number of comparisons that can be made between the UK and Brazil when it comes to racing. For example, there’s a hardcore fraternity of racing fans and many more casual racegoers, those who are likely to view a day at the races as much in terms of the experience as the opportunity to have a flutter. Not to mention that Brazil boasts the third-largest horse population globally. The thoroughbred industry has been growing steadily since the 1990s, with notable group one winners such as Siphon, Sandpit and, more recently, Bal a Bali elevating the breed’s prominence.
But there’s a huge difference in the local availability of racing. While Brazil’s enormous size makes it the fifth largest country in the world and its population of more than 215 million makes it the seventh most populated, it has just four racetracks, albeit these are well-attended on race days. The UK, ranked 80th by land area and 21st by population, meanwhile, is home to 59 racecourses.
This disparity goes some way to explaining why football is taking the lion’s share of sports betting turnover in Brazil despite currently being unregulated, while racing takes a fraction of this even though it’s been legal for many years.
Online operators could be doing more to cash in on local racing than they currently are. The key to making the most of the Brazilian opportunity is educating the local population on the benefits of betting opportunities that the sheer volume of international races affords and cross-selling this to keen sports bettors.
Filling the gaps
Because while football is unlikely to lose its crown as the most popular sport among Brazilian bettors, the problem with football, NFL, basketball, MMA, golf, tennis and everything else, is that there are so many gaps in the schedule. And once the significant licence fees outlined in the new law have been paid, both local and foreign operators are likely going to need to optimise their product with as little downtime as possible in order to justify their investment.
Racing has the edge over all other sports because on a global basis there exists a full calendar where there is always something to bet on.
In the UK and Ireland we’ve already seen this approach used to great effect with the relatively recent introductions of North American, French, South African, Australian and Asian racing for domestic audiences. This secondary content does well as it lands in either prime leisure hours or is filler at weekends or for poor weather conditions. The increasing globalisation of racing was, in fact, one of the key reasons for our acquisition of Asian racing data provider iRace Media in the second half of last year.
In this respect, foreign operators, some of which have established a foothold in Brazil prior to a regulatory regime and are savvy with this approach used in established markets, may have an edge over others, simply because they’re experienced with the product.
Brazil is likely to be the same as any other fledgling market in the sense that if a company has just started offering a legal gambling product, they are likely going to have greater comfort in offering products to bet on that they are familiar with.
Mitigating the risk
In conversations our team has had with operators in emerging markets such as Brazil, Latam and Africa, the racing knowledge gap is an issue that’s come up repeatedly. They could easily integrate with a data provider such as ourselves from a technical perspective, but they may not fully understand the data they are looking at and some worry this leaves them overexposed.
There are a number of things that make racing more challenging than other sports to trade. For a start, the vernacular used in racing is not something that everyone understands if they’ve not been exposed to it before. In addition, a lot of operators fear racing because while they believe it can make them good money, they know there are people out there, professional punters and big racing syndicates, that know more about racing than their own traders.
This view is not unique to Brazil or even new markets, it’s something we also hear in our core markets and it possibly goes some way to explaining why new operators sometimes take every sport on offer before they get to racing. But inevitably, most take racing at some point because the volume on offer is too great to ignore. However, one recent shift worth mentioning is that more operators new to racing are opting for a platform partner or pricing partner to avoid being exposed to risks they aren’t comfortable with.
This is something that may be even more attractive to operators in emerging markets like Brazil given their lack of experience with global fixed odds racing to date. One thing that may work in their favour is that the country’s bettors would also appear to lack the maturity shown in established markets when it comes to the type of bets they are placing.
For instance, virtually all of the bets taken on football in Brazil are multis, which are bad for punters but which operators love as they are high margin and low risk. A diverse racing portfolio similarly has the potential to deliver high margins for operators and keep players engaged year-round, meaning the product could be just as successful in Brazil as it is in many more established markets.
Richard Duncan is Head of Business Development at PA Betting Services. He has been with parent company PA Media Group since 2002, with the bulk of his career having been spent working in its racing team.
There is a new hero in Mexico as FBM® launches the thrilling Croc’s Lock™. This slot game merges an engaging storyline with a disruptive game mechanic based on the Lock feature and two accumulators, taking players into a cartooned adventure with Super Croc full of golden coins to collect.
Croc’s Lock is a 30-line slot filled with adrenaline and great prizes. Super Croc is the character around all action happens. Working with 15 independent reels, Croc’s Lock offers gaming sessions where Super Croc exploits lead the player through an entertaining journey with three new features. The surprise element is always present, as the big prizes can come on the main game or bonus free spins modes.
Extra Coins and Extra Spins unlock extra fun!
The central reel is the focus of the Croc’s Lock game mechanic. Every time players obtain a Super Croc on this position, the Lock Feature is activated. Super Croc liberates all the existing lock symbols and may open the bonus with Extra Coins, Extra Spins or both accumulators combined.
If the bonus mode starts with one chest open, players get five free spins. This number increases to ten free rounds when Super Croc triggers Extra Spins and Extra Coins at the same time. Each accumulator of the Croc’s Lock slot game presents a different feature:
- Extra Spins – Super Croc releases thunders from its fingers, increasing the free spins counter during the bonus rounds.
- Extra Coins – Super Croc changes the reels by shooting flaming coins to introduce more lock symbols on each free round.
The character stays on the central reel during the bonus plays. The features attached to each accumulator appear in the first free spin and can be repeated several times during the bonus rounds.
When players get into the bonus with one of the accumulators active, Super Croc keeps contributing with coins for the unopened chest. These contributions can lead to the opening of the other accumulator, allowing players to benefit from the combined effect of Extra Spins and Extra Coins.
Four jackpots, reel rewinds, and Luck Has Arrived to collect bags of coins
The Lock feature is just a part of Croc’s Lock’s adrenaline injection. This FBM slot offers a complete feature set, including four Progressive Jackpots and two game features ready to keep the players engaged on the screen: Rewind and Luck Has Arrived.
- Progressive Jackpots – Croc’s Lock offers access to four different prize levels – Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand – through a jackpot vault that can appear on the reels during the main game or bonus rounds.
- Rewind – part of the Super Croc special powers, this feature changes the game round outcome. When Crocs hits the paw, one or more reels will change the symbol displayed and deliver a winning round to the player.
- Luck Has Arrived – the lasers coming from the eyes of the Super Croc pre-announce this feature, anticipating a big win for the player.
A villain, a hero and great graphics engage players in a disruptive FBM slot!
Several factors contribute to the immersive game experience offered by Croc’s Lock. Besides the rewards included in the product’s feature set, this FBM slot involves casino players and operators through a compelling narrative with the traditional duel “hero vs villain”.
On one side, the Lock represents the evil force of the game and is visible on all lock symbols landed on the 15 independent reels, bringing challenges to the game hero on each spin. On the other side, Super Croc embodies the superpowers of the good forces on a joyful character, who guides the player on all relevant moments of the game with entertaining animations like the dances, the paw hit, the Extra Spins thunders, the Extra Coins flaming coins or the Luck Has arrived lasers.
The sound effects of Croc’s Lock add an extra layer of enthusiasm, completing the visual effects and animations of the game with sounds that keep on the player’s mind with catchy rhymes and melodies.
Available for the Galaxy II, Auria and Shadow III casino cabinets, Croc’s Lock starts its expansion journey in Mexico. Designed for players looking for significant prizes in durable and long-lasting gaming sessions, this title promises to enchant slot fans spread all over the country.
Following the releases of Jin Qián Link Spirits™ and Xing Fú Fortune Money Trees™, FBM continues renovating its slots portfolio with an innovative, reliable, high-performing casino game. Croc’s Lock is compatible with different casino floor layouts and ready to add value to the casino operator’s portfolio with an exciting narrative and compelling aesthetics, features, and game mechanics.
AGS, a global gaming supplier known for its high-performing slot, table, and interactive products, has been named one of U.S. News & World Report’s 2025–2026 Best Companies to Work For.
AGS was selected as one of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Companies to Work For, placing in the top 30 percent of 2,119 publicly traded companies evaluated. To be eligible, companies were required to have more than 75 employee reviews on Glassdoor submitted between 2021 and early 2025, alongside strong workplace data across key metrics.
The U.S. News evaluation assessed companies based on employee sentiment and six key workplace factors: quality of pay and benefits, work-life balance and flexibility, job and company stability, physical and psychological comfort, belonging and esteem, and career opportunities and professional development.
AGS was honored in the following categories:
- Best Companies to Work For – Overall
- Best Companies to Work For in the West
- Best Companies to Work For in the Media and Communications Industry
- Best Companies to Work For – Top Workplace Environment
- Best Companies to Work For – Top Engineering Jobs
In Nevada, AGS was one of only two companies featured on the 2025–2026 list.
“Our recognition by U.S. News & World Report is especially meaningful because it reflects what our employees have shared about their experience working at AGS,” said Kim Nasuta, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. “The hundreds of Glassdoor reviews submitted over the past several years tell a powerful story about a culture rooted in trust, transparency, and opportunity. We are proud to foster an environment where people feel supported, empowered, and excited to come to work every day.”
AGS was also recently named a 2025 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation and in Atlanta, and recognized by USA TODAY as a 2025 Top Workplace in the U.S.
Last Thursday, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed into law three bills — Bills 11, 12 and 13 — each of which are related to illegal gambling in the county.
The first, Bill 11, sets requirements on “electronic amusement devices” in public establishments. Operators of the establishment are now required to obtain a permit from the Honolulu Police Chief to use such a device on the premises, or else forfeit the device.
The Police Chief could deny a permit application if the proposed location of the device “would be reasonably likely to result in an increase in criminal activity, vandalism, litter, noise or traffic congestion,” according to the bill. The bill also requires anyone with a permit to allow a police officer to enter the premises and inspect the device and other records.
Meanwhile, Bill 12 allows the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting to deny permit applications for properties that have been cited for a gambling-related public nuisance within the previous two years.
And Bill 13 allows landlords to request a police escort while inspecting a private property for nuisance claims, with the accompanying officers authorized to document law violations or unsafe conditions, and to warn people not authorized to be there to leave.
In tandem, the three bills are meant to clamp down on illicit gambling rooms, which often become hotspots for associated complaints of criminal behavior.
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