Winpot CEO Yoni Sidi has said he expects operators will be pushed out of the Mexican gaming market due to increasingly stringent regulation.
At the start of the year, the Mexican government approved proposals to increase the country’s GGR tax rate from 30% to 50% for operators.
First proposed at the tail end of 2025 and introduced this year, the increase has made Mexico’s tax rate one of the most aggressive in the Americas.
Speaking to EGR about Winpot’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup – hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico – Sidi attested that regulated firms will suffer disproportionately when compared to their unlicensed counterparts.
He said: “I can’t pretend and say the tax environment is easy. It’s a hit on everyone, with the regulated brands affected, much, much, more than the unregulated brands, which is one of my concerns with the new regulation.
“It’s extremely outdated; I think it’s from the 1940s or 1950s and hasn’t really evolved to where we are today. It obviously puts a bigger strain on the margins you have as an operator and we’ve had to tidy our house a bit.”
Sidi added that he anticipates more operators will end up leaving the market, following the lead of others who have already jumped ship.
He continued: “We were aware this was coming, so we were quite well prepared. We made our changes in January, just making sure we were as efficient as possible.
“On the flip side, it’s something that does affect everyone. I think we will definitely see after [the World Cup] that the market will consolidate because I don’t think everyone will be able to operate under such strict conditions.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing for brands like ourselves that are better prepared. We’ve optimised our cost base a lot more and we try to be a bit smarter where we invest our money.
“We saw two major brands drop out of the market due to regulatory issues, which was obviously a benefit because we were able to pick up their crumbs. I thought they would come back into the market before the World Cup, but they haven’t, so I’m not sure what their plans are.”
Although the increased tax rate didn’t alter the operator’s World Cup planning, Sidi noted that the new regulation had led Winpot to rethink certain opportunities.
He remarked: “Overall I wouldn’t say it’s changed our plans per se, but it simply made us a bit more vigilant on costs that we have.
“There’s definitely been certain opportunities that we’ve turned down, just because we didn’t have deep enough pockets, but it also makes us look around for other interesting opportunities where we might have to work harder on the ground and do a bit more of the heavy lifting ourselves – but those opportunities are definitely there.
“On that side of it, it’s probably been helpful to us more than a hindrance because there’s nothing you can do, it is what it is. I still think a tournament of this scale dwarfs any tax issue, purely through the level of excitement.”
Speaking to EGR earlier this month, Codere Online CEO Aviv Sher warned any operators looking to enter the Mexican market that conditions are difficult, and that it may take some time before they see any return on investment.
As per EGM data, Caliente dominates the Mexican market on a traffic basis. Stake recently went live in the regulated arena as part of its continued push in Latam.
This article includes insight from our data partner, EGM. A GGR-focused product launched earlier this year, delivering broader market coverage and data-led insight across the global gambling industry. Click here to find out more about EGM and book a demo by clicking here
The post Winpot CEO: Mexican market will likely shrink under strict regulation first appeared on EGR Intel.
Yoni Sidi says every regulated firm will be affected by the country’s new 50% GGR tax rate which “puts a bigger strain on the margins you have as an operator”
The post Winpot CEO: Mexican market will likely shrink under strict regulation first appeared on EGR Intel.