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MGM Resorts International is exploring a “large JV” for online gambling in Latin America ahead of the opening of Brazil’s regulated market, according to CEO Bill Hornbuckle.
Speaking to analysts on a fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday (February 13), Hornbuckle said he would soon be traveling to South America to explore the joint venture (JV) opportunity, without disclosing further information.
He also said MGM planned to participate in the Brazilian market as soon as it launches, potentially by the middle of this year.
Hornbuckle’s comments were made when he was asked about MGM’s ambitions to grow its global online gambling business following the recent acquisition of LeoVegas and launch of the BetMGM brand in the UK, which Hornbuckle said had exceeded expectations with more than 100,000 first-time depositors.
Brazil passed a law in December to pave the way for a licensing regime for both online sports betting and casino games, and regulators may require tie-ups between international operators and local companies, depending on how they interpret language in that law that calls for all license-holders to be at least 20 percent owned by a Brazilian.
MGM and LeoVegas were among 134 companies that formally registered interest in a license with Brazil’s Ministry of Finance last year, along with DraftKings, Hard Rock and a number of major European-based operators.
Elsewhere, Hornbuckle said MGM was “on the heels of” acquiring its own sports-betting technology and nearing a deal to live-stream casino games from MGM’s Las Vegas resorts through a live casino product. The company last year acquired casino game developer Push Gaming.
Hornbuckle was also asked again whether MGM was expecting to return for a second bid to acquire its BetMGM U.S. joint venture partner Entain.
He said only that he had met Entain’s interim CEO last week during ICE in London to discuss BetMGM and declined to elaborate on any further conversations.
The focus for the MGM-Entain venture in 2024 is on “product, product, product’’, according to Hornbuckle, as BetMGM bids to catch up with U.S. market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings, including through offering a wider range of parlay betting opportunities. He acknowledged that 2024 would be a “reinvestment year” for BetMGM, which would show its true profit potential in 2026.
BetMGM was relaunched on Entain’s platform in Nevada last week and will soon be fully integrated with player accounts and wallets across MGM’s casino-resort properties in Las Vegas.
Hornbuckle was speaking after MGM reported fourth-quarter revenues of $4.4bn, up 22 percent, as revived operations in Macau offset revenue declines at regional casino properties in Michigan and Maryland. Full-year consolidated net revenue was $16.2bn compared with $13.1bn in 2022, bolstered by Macau and non-gaming revenue in Las Vegas.
Last week, BetMGM announced that it expected to report net revenue for 2023 of $1.96bn, up 36 percent compared with 2022 and at the top end of guidance.
On other topics, Hornbuckle said they company hoped to submit an application for a casino-resort license in New York by the middle of the year and receive a decision on whether MGM will be approved to expand its Empire City Casino video-lottery facility before the end of 2024.
MGM is also still “looking aggressively” at potential casino expansion in the United Arab Emirates, where it is developing a non-gaming resort property in Dubai.
