With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now hot on our heels, operators across Latin America are preparing for a surge in betting activity that will test every layer of their businesses.
Far from being just a short-term spike in demand, the tournament represents a critical proving ground for sportsbook performance, regulatory readiness and platform stability.
Key industry figures from businesses across Latin America joined a recent SBC webinar to discuss the challenges and opportunities sportsbooks are set to face over a blockbuster summer of sport – and perhaps a sector boom in the host nations…
Up-and-comer Mexico to shine?
A sector boom in the US over the summer has been much discussed, but Carolina Diniz Flauzino, Business Development Manager at SOFTSWISS, pointed out that a similar expansion may be seen in Mexico.
She said: “This year I see, even from the business side, a lot of interesting movements in Mexico.
“I think Mexico is going to be the next up-and-coming country globally that will boom this year and in the next few years, considering that physical operators are going to join the online casinos. For us, it’s a target market and it’s very relevant given that Mexico is hosting the World Cup this summer as it’s going to bring a lot of new attention.
“Hopefully, we will see more operators interested in our business and in our solutions, helping to increase our activity in Mexico too.”
Customer retention is key – but how will businesses achieve it?
One key query which has arisen in the industry is how businesses – both operators and suppliers – will retain the influx of new customers which will almost inevitably come in spades throughout the World Cup.
For Fellipe Fraga, Chief Business Officer at Stellar Gaming, it is something he is no stranger to.
“We’ve seen this before in previous World Cups and also in tournaments like the Copa America, so of course we are expecting an uplift.
“How we can measure retention is, as a data-driving company, by collecting data. It’s all about data analytics.”
Bruno Palumbo, Country Manager, Brazil at Gamewiz, added: “Here at Gamewiz, in terms of uplift, as a benchmark we are expecting at least 30% more volume than a usual major domestic tournament.
“For retention, as Fellipe said, it’s data. You need to monitor if your regular casino players are coming to the sportsbook because of the World Cup, and it’s the same with new players – how are they playing and what are the patterns?
“Having the data, studying the data, is a good measurement. I could name at least 100 different strategies on how to retain new users.
“On a main level, we should just work very hard on the CRM – what are these users doing when they’re on your site? The main strategy is finding out what customers really like about your website and how to keep them doing this.”
The fear of World Cup outages
When quizzed by SBC Noticias’ Business Journalist Damian Martinez on how damaging outages are in key moments, Fraga commented: “If you have something like this, it can be a huge problem. Players can feel like they’re being scammed.
“These big moments happen a lot, especially during the World Cup, so providers must be aware that this cannot happen.
“If it’s the last five minutes of a big game and you have no odds, or wrongly-balanced odds, yes you can void bets and dive into T&C’s, but it’s a hugely damaging situation for a brand’s image.”
Flauzino recounted her early days in the industry, when the introduction of VAR caused many problems for industry businesses in key moments.
“This is the World Cup, we’re now aware that these kinds of situations are going to happen all the time,” she said.
“It’s very important for operators to be aware of it and really train their teams. For this period, you really need to be stable and keep your customers happy so that you’re not damaging the image of the brand.”
Customer satisfaction will be just one of the headline KPIs for operators as we head into what is sure to be a busy period for the sector, with the 2026 World Cup set to bring all sorts of major developments in the iGaming industry.
