Playtech points to Mexico and other North American opportunities as the new growth engine of its FTSE250 midcap holdings.
Publishing a corporate notice ahead of its AGM, Playtech lauded that a “stronger-than-expected performance in the Americas” has continued.
Though group-wide figures remain undisclosed, leadership referenced momentum maintained from FY2025.
Playtech’s Americas unit delivered €209.9m in regional revenue, supported by US and Canada growth of 61% to €48m (€29.8m FY2024) and underlying Latin America growth of 8% excluding the revised Caliente agreement, with US gaming contracts nearly doubling year-on-year.
As such, leadership lauds a new growth profile in the Americas, led by the B2B client portfolio of DraftKings (casino and live gaming), bet365 (live gaming in New Jersey and Pennsylvania), Hard Rock Digital (live gaming in Michigan and New Jersey) and FanDuel (live gaming in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan).
The Americas outlook is emboldened by the reset agreement of the Caliente JV, activated in March 2025.
The agreement sees Playtech transform its services in Mexico from B2B service fees to equity participation, contributing €54.5m in associate income and €45.7m in dividends under the 2025 contract.
Investors were informed that “Playtech has achieved an excellent trading performance for the first four months of 2026, driven by continued strength in the US, Mexico and certain European markets, as well as solid performance in Live, as returns on the Company’s investments in recent years accelerated”.
Mor Weizer, Playtech’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have made an excellent start to 2026, with strong trading in the first four months of the year reflecting continued momentum in regulated markets, notably the Americas and certain European markets.”
All eyes on Mexico
All eyes on Mexico Playtech partnership with Caliente Interactive in Mexico continues to perform strongly, with the upcoming FIFA World Cup presenting a significant opportunity to further strengthen Caliente’s leadership position in the market.
Interim accounts will provide further detail on Playtech’s exposure to new gambling tax measures in key markets, including the UK’s increase in Remote Gaming Duty to 40% and Mexico’s implementation of its new 50% IEPS gambling tax on operator income, introduced under the Fiscal Budget 2026 reforms of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Weizer concluded: “Despite the ongoing sector headwinds, the combination of Playtech’s strong expansion in regulated markets, diversified positioning, highly scalable technology and deep partner relationships leaves the Group well positioned to capture the significant market opportunity ahead.”
Penrose NED exit
Ahead of its AGM, Playtech announced that Independent Director Ian Penrose will step down from the Board.
Penrose, the former CEO of Sportech, had served as an Independent NED since 2018, supporting leadership’s North American objectives and the firm’s corporate transition back to B2B following its divestment of SNAI Italia.
John Gleasure, Non-Executive Chairman, said: “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to express our thanks to Ian for his invaluable contribution during what has been a period of significant shareholder value creation and strategic transition since his appointment in 2018.
“Ian has brought deep global industry experience to Playtech, and has always shown total commitment and dedication during what will have been almost 9 years of service to Playtech. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”