Super Group confirms Portugal exit for Betway

Super Group has confirmed its Betway brand has withdrawn from the Portugal market.

Betway has exited the Portuguese market after making a request to the regulator, which was granted on Friday. 

The operator told iGB it would focus instead on existing markets and “growth areas with more potential”. 

Super Group’s licence had been up for renewal this year, but the operator has been increasingly shifting its efforts to higher-growth regions, such as Africa. It entered Portugal in 2020 and then joined the market’s trade body APAJO in 2021.

“After a thorough review we have decided to relinquish our licence in Portugal in order to focus on existing markets and growth areas with more potential,” a Betway spokesperson told iGB. 

The operator didn’t confirm whether any further market exits are planned.

Super Group’s exit strategies

The withdrawal from Portugal follows its US exit last year, which was triggered by regulatory shifts that had impacted “long-term US expected profitability”.

At Super Group’s investor day last September, the company’s head of data and analytics Spencer McNally said the US exit was a “great example” of the business’ disciplined capital allocation.

“Our financial models did actually project a profit for the USA in 2027 if we stayed,” McNally said. “But despite what I’ve just shown you, the US market simply wasn’t projected to meet our return on capital requirements.”

Prot to that, Super Group pulled out of India in 2023 in response to it implementing a new online gambling tax rate, which was set at 28% of turnover.

In September Betway COO Kevin Kovarsky told investors: “In Q3 2023, we made the tough decision to exit India. We took a short-term hit in revenue and profits, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

“Listen, it’s really simple this business,” Menashe said. “You pay X to get the customer in the front door, you deliver Y in retention. If the one less the other is not profitable, then you’re never going to make money,” CEO Neal Menashe said of its exiting strategy at the time.

Strong Q3 in Europe for Super Group

In Q3 Super Group’s Europe revenue surged 46% year-on-year, with the UK (+71%) and Spain (+11%) particular highlights for the quarter.

During the period Europe accounted for 20% of Super Group’s Q3 revenue, up from 17% in the same period of 2024.

“This outstanding performance reflects a combination of regulatory stability, product innovation and enhanced marketing execution,” Menashe said on the post-Q3 earnings call.