A $5.5 million non-cash charge tied to the write-off of MeridianBet’s Brazilian license underscores the real financial toll of President Lula da Silva’s gambling ban.
Meridian Holdings recorded that charge during the third quarter of 2026, after fully writing off the Brazilian license and all related intangible assets following the suspension of operations.
The company does not anticipate resuming any gaming activity in Brazil before the end of 2026, with its full-year revenue guidance built entirely around that assumption.
Despite the damage, Meridian Holdings CEO Zoran Milosevic has drawn a firm line in the sand, making clear the company intends to fight its way back into the market.
“Our decision is to stay in Brazil and to exhaust every single possible legal way to resume our business,” Milosevic said, framing the position as one shared across the industry.
He added that the stance is far from unique, noting: “Actually, every single company is doing more or less the same.”
Brazil’s suspension of fixed-odds betting, which swept up online casinos alongside sports wagering and applied to all operators without exception, hit Meridian at a delicate moment.
Total group-wide revenue for Q3 2026 came in at $46 million, a 3% decline compared to the $47.3 million posted in the same quarter a year earlier.
Milosevic acknowledged the combination of headwinds weighing on the quarter, stating: “This was a challenging quarter, impacted by customer-favorable sports results, regulatory developments in Brazil and higher operating costs.”
Within those headline numbers, the picture was mixed, with the Meridianbet Group segment actually growing revenue by 2% to reach $33.1 million for the period.
Online casino proved to be a genuine bright spot, surging 17% to $17.1 million and demonstrating that the core product retains meaningful momentum outside the regulatory turbulence.
Online sports betting told a different story, with revenue sliding 15% to $8.7 million as margins tightened from 8.2% to 7.4%, largely because results consistently favored bettors during the quarter.
Milosevic was careful to separate the structural health of the business from the noise created by Brazil and unfavorable sports outcomes, insisting the core operation continues generating its own growth capital.
On a more encouraging note, Meridian managed to reduce its overall debt load by the end of Q3, offering investors at least one clean positive from an otherwise difficult reporting period.
The company has now updated its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $195 million to $198 million, a projection that carries the explicit caveat of no Brazilian comeback before year-end.
