iGaming is no stranger to regulatory upheavals, as 2024 and 2025 have been successive years with such overhauls coming into play. Super Group, operator of the Betway sportsbook and multiple online casino brands under Spin, has first hand experience of many.

Active across some of the world’s biggest betting markets from its headquarters in Guernsey, including the UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Canada – Super Group did buck the Brazilian trend earlier this year by becoming the biggest name absent from the Bets starting-line.

“You only have to look at the vast list of competitors entering that market to recognise the challenges we would have had to a path to profitability,” says

, Super Group CEO, speaking to SBC News ahead of his appearance at the SBC Summit in Lisbon in September.

“Subsequent to that market opening we’ve also seen a concerning debate emerge on levels of taxation. We made the right decision early and our focus will be in markets that are sustainable and provide clear returns for our shareholders.”

The approach, including its decision not to chase Brazilian gold like other PLCS such as Flutter Entertainment or Entain, has been shaped by Super Group’s pledge to maintain efficient/effective profitability across each market as its headline competency.

Leadership takes note of the extent of local competition, and perhaps even more crucially, localised dynamics and taxation that will make its circumstances more difficult to keep its pledge of securing the fastest EBITDA generation in which every pound, dollar and euro is accounted for.

As Menashe notes, Brazilian legislators are reviewing whether to raise taxes on gross gaming revenue (GGR) from 12* to 18%. Closer to home, the prospect of the UK government merging the three different types of gaming tax into one is looking increasingly likely.

“We welcome fair and sustainable regulation in all markets,” Menashe adds. “We are used to adapting to regulatory changes, but significant hikes in tax impact the competitiveness of all licensed operators and open the back door for the black market.”

Competition beats black market

Super Group’s CEO is not alone in being alarmed at a gambling black market. The topic has been a talking point of the industry for many years, with key stakeholders and leaders, such as Menashe, cautioning the government about the risks of more consumers turning to unlicensed betting and gaming platforms.

This is a warning that has been echoed by some in the treatment sector also. The risk to governments and consumers is two-fold, industry stakeholders have long-argued, with consumers lacking protection when betting on the black market while the government loses out on legislative industry tax revenue.

Similar to this two-fold threat to consumers and governments, Menashe points to what he believes are “two major challenges” facing the industry in 2025 – ones which are interlinked.

“Over regulation’ which makes markets uncompetitive, which in-turn enhances the chances of black market penetration. As licensed operators we need to work hand-in-hand with regulators to combat the black market to protect customers and government’s fiscal returns.”

Menashe is hardly alone when it comes to holding concerns about the black market and the potential for over-regulation to drive people to it. This has been a common industry talking point for some time, particularly in the context of often intense debates about regulatory overhauls in the UK, Netherlands and elsewhere.

The UK in particular is one which is going through a huge regulatory shift. The 2020-2023 review of the 2005 Gambling Act is ushering in a new era, complete with various new requirements of licensed gaming firms, and reform advocates are calling for even more changes to be made.

Sponsorship & accountability

This is where the topic of sponsorship comes in, one that has been very important to Super Group’s UK partnership activity, particularly for its Betway brand, which was the longest running betting partner of a Premier League team as sponsor of West Ham United from February 2015 to May 2025.

With the Premier League’s self-imposed ban on front-of-shirt sponsorships from the end of the 2025/26 season, deals like this will have to change. This has required the likes of Betway to adjust, maintaining 10 betting partner deals with clubs in the top division of English football, including three of the so-called top-six (Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City). The brand pivoted away from front-of-shirt positions one year early.

Menashe tells SBC News: “We have already made adjustments to our strategy and have already diversified our portfolio to move away from front-of-shirt. We now have a suite of tier one teams in the English Premier League where we will responsibly activate the marketing channels still open to us.”

This focus on adaptability and efficiency is what has defined Super Group’s activities over the past couple of years – as noted above, it is why the company opted not to launch in Brazil and instead focus on other markets in Europe and Africa.

Marketing is an area where the group has a lot of confidence, finding ways to connect with audiences across multiple markets while navigating the different regulatory conditions, like the aforementioned changes to sponsorship rules in the UK.

Whatever the market conditions, Super Group finds a way for its brands to connect with its customer base, Menashe explains. This is all down to ‘our laser-like focus on the customer and efficiencies on marketing”, he says, something which has given the group confidence to recognise when a market launch hasn’t fully worked out, such as Betway’s three year stint in the US.

“We are driven to make successful entries into markets, but we also know when to cut our losses, and occasionally have to do so,” he says. “We have close to three decades of experience in operating in multiple markets globally, and it gives us the insight to make strategic choices better than most of our competitors. Our range of podium positions in African markets and our recent exit from the US market is testament to this approach.”

On the success of Super Group’s international branding efforts, he adds: “Betway as a global brand within Sportsbook ensures our marketing spend across the world has payback in all locations. It also means we can be extremely efficient with ROI on that spend. On the iGaming side, Casino customers might like the look and feel of a certain brand which cements retention across the multiple offerings we have in that sector.”

The great equaliser

A lot has been said about the challenges regulation can pose, and it is undeniable that navigating changing regulatory dynamics and dealing with new restrictions will have an impact on any business, whether in the betting industry or otherwise.

But regulation can often be a great equaliser, and ultimately launch new markets that companies could not otherwise operate in. A second factor to consider here is technology – it is often said that regulation and technology are what drives this industry forward, and Menashe believes that the significance of this combination cannot be overstated.

“It always has to be a combination of both, although I – along with many other leaders in the industry – have recognised the game-changing potential of AI,” he says.

“Historically regulation has always been one step behind technological advancements, so as always we’ll be looking very closely at how authorities respond to this evolution over the upcoming years, and adapt accordingly.

“Our talented people are still at the core of our operations and product. When you combine them with the evolution of technology, particularly AI, we are able to carry out those tasks quicker and at scale.”

And of course, regulation of new markets means new opportunities. Though Super Group has opted to focus on other countries while many of its contemporaries are gunning for growth in Brazil, the sheer volume of interest in this market illustrates how significant the launch of a new regulated betting space can be.

The same can be said of Ontario back in April 2023, when it became the first and so far only Canadian province to launch a regulated, multi-licence sports betting market. Betway is a key sportsbook in this valuable but also very competitive space.

Canada is now captivating people’s attention once again. Alberta, the fourth largest province by population, plans to launch a new gaming market by 2026. This is a prospect Canadian betting stakeholders have been eagerly anticipating for years, though there is an air of caution in Menashe’s response when asked for his view on Alberta prospects.

“It’s too early to tell, with regulations within the province still being drafted as we speak. They have a blueprint from their neighbours in Ontario and if they follow that closely then we should see great opportunities for Super Group.”

For all this talk of Brazil and Latin America, European markets like the UK and all their regulatory and marketing requirements, and the big bucks of North America, there is one geography which stands out to Menashe and Super Group – Africa.

The company has secured ‘podium positions across many countries’ across the continent, he says – Betway for example is one of the most prominent online firms in South Africa. These podium positions are ‘testament to the potential we see there’, Menashe remarked.

As SBC’s conversation with Super Group’s CEO drew to a close, the attention turned to the upcoming SBC Summit Lisbon, where Menashe will share insights into global iGaming leadership alongside the CEOs from Flutter, Betsson and Betfred.

“This industry is extremely dynamic and I’m always struck by the SBC summits that I attend, how creative and future-focused we all are,” he concludes. “I expect Lisbon to be no different.”

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SBC Summit will take place from 16–18 September at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa and MEO Arena, bringing together 30,000 industry stakeholders for an unmissable three-day experience.Looking to attend? Here’s how:

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Expo+ Pass: Gain access to the full exhibition floor and all conference sessions across the three days. This does not include access to our exclusive VIP evening networking events.

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