Live casino as a product offers endless opportunities for operators in the US. This is said by Mor Weizer, Chief Executive Officer of Playtech, in an interview with SBC News.

Speaking to us soon after Playtech’s full-year 2025 results were published, Weizer was quick to point out that the Group will remain focused on developing the live casino scene in the US, despite the product lacking behind much bigger adoption rates in other parts of the world.

“We see the US as a massive opportunity,” he said. “It is correct that live casinos are very popular in Asia. It’s also very popular in certain other markets – there are countries where live casino represents 25-30% of the overall activity.

“In the US, and rightfully so as you said, the level of adoption is still limited at around 17%. However, we see this as an opportunity because we do believe that the market fundamentals in the US allow for a significant growth in live casino. 

“As we indicated this morning, the revenues generated by live casino customers is 1.8x the revenue generated by casino players and this represents a cross-selling opportunity that will allow operators to push live casino in the US further.”

A global bulwark against tax burdens

The Americas as a whole has played a key role in Playtech’s financials throughout last year, especially when the firm is rapidly transforming into a B2B business. However, one particular highlight from the FY25 report was that its B2B costs were up while B2B revenue dropped YoY.

Asked about whether Playtech will be able to turn the scales around going into 2026, Chris McGinnis, Chief Financial Officer, acknowledged that revenue was impacted by the revised agreement with Caliente International – but that costs are expected to grow at a slower level this year, parallel to profits also returning to growth.

Looking further ahead, this year is shaping up to be tax-heavy across some of Playtech’s key jurisdictions such as Brazil and the UK. However, management was steadfast that the firm can withstand any headwinds thanks to its diversified portfolio.

McGinnis said: “The biggest impact for Playtech has been in the UK, where the government announced the increase in Remote Gaming Duty. We put out an announcement that this would significantly impact our business. 

“But we also remain confident. Playtech is quite a diversified business geographically, so while there are tax increases in places like the UK and other jurisdictions, we are still confident that we will grow regardless.”

Weizer emphasised this further: “We have a big presence in other territories like Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, and in the Scandinavian market. So we are very well diversified and I believe that regardless of regulatory changes, Playtech is very well positioned to address anything that comes our way.”

Lastly, the firm confirmed that it is eyeing up several new jurisdictions to enhance this diversification – namely Finland, New Zealand, and Ireland.

All three countries are in the process of undergoing significant regulatory reforms. 

Finland is moving towards dismantling its full state gambling monopoly with operator Veikkaus by June 2027, New Zealand is preparing to introduce its first online gambling licenses, while Ireland has a brand new gambling regulator, which will shape a new domestic landscape.

Weizer concluded: “Finland is going through a change with a new regulatory regime to allow operators to publicly enter the market. We see that as an opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with Veikkaus.

“We also have other Scandinavian operators that are partners of Playtech already, that are keen to penetrate the Finnish market as soon as that change happens.

“New Zealand on the other hand is obviously an unregulated market that is considering regulating and Playtech is looking to partner with operators that will likely establish themselves. We are looking at B2B partner partners and at the same time structured agreement partners in New Zealand.

“As for Ireland, again they’re looking to change the regulatory regime. And we see this as an opportunity given the strong relationships we have with certain people with access to the Irish market.”