In February, global sportsbook and casino operator 1xBet announced it had acquired a licence to operate in Brazil’s regulated market.
It marked one of the more notable feathers in the cap of a company that has put considerable focus – and marketing effort – into growing its footprint and mindshare in regulated jurisdictions in recent years.
1xBet was founded in 2007 and is currently headquartered in Cyprus. The brand is known the world over but has a history of eliciting controversy, a past which it has been attempting to distance itself from through a purported shift to a ‘new direction’.
Regulation becomes the focus
Part of its new direction has involved doubling down on growing its portfolio of local licences in regulated markets around the globe – a mission towards which it has made notable progress in recent years.
That growth hasn’t come randomly. It is part of a concerted strategy – one which 1xBet strategic advisor Simon Westbury claims has always been in place, but admits has seen a marked acceleration since 2017.
“From 2017 onwards, we placed greater emphasis on structured regulatory participation, and I think that mirrors where the industry went,” Westbury tells iGB. “Since 2020, the pace of our licence acquisition has increased materially.”
He discloses that the majority of their licence approvals were secured post 2020, which he claims is a reflection of the way online gaming markets have matured, though also how 1xBet has matured.
“As more countries regulate, the necessity is for us to have more licences to operate. I think we’ve gone hand in hand with the industry. There’s been an influx of new countries where we found the ability to make commercial sense for us to enter the market post 2020.”
Regulated market pivot?
The concerted strategy to grow into regulated space arguably draws parallels to other recent announcements in the industry. Bet365 made headlines late last year by exiting the Chinese market – a decision it described as part of a strategic shift toward majority regulated revenues.
Bet365 CEO Denise Coates noted in a December 2025 company accounts filing that the company had also exited a number of other markets as they “no longer fell within the long-term sustainable revenue category”.
Coates noted at the time that “point of consumption regulated markets offer the most robust foundation for long-term sustainable revenue”.
Elsewhere, Yolo Group also recently announced a major strategic pivot to regulated markets, supposedly opting to leave grey markets behind. It described its business as at “a crossroads” and said the move was about shifting away from quick cash to more secure long-term revenue, arguing regulated markets offered the best opportunity to drive long-term value for the business.
“You can only get regulated where there’s regulation”
For 1xBet, 2020 appears to have been something of a turning point, at least in terms of the number of licenses successfully procured.
But Westbury partly pushed back against the idea that the operator’s recent strategy represents a new pivot for the company. Challenged on what’s driving its new focus on regulated market revenues, he argues the focus had always been in place but it just hadn’t been communicated to the industry that 1xBet had historically engaged in this process.
“It comes down to the fact that there’s been a shift in the gaming industry, per se, towards regulated markets. We’re a leading operator in that, so we have to shift into regulatory participation, but it’s developed progressively.
“You can only get regulated where there’s regulation,” he continues. “And that’s obviously evolved over time, and 1xBet has evolved in that framework. I think maybe what’s not been clear to the industry is that people are not aware of how long this journey has been ongoing.”
However, he concedes that there has been an internal shift in emphasis towards focusing on growing its regulated market footprint in order to boost the company’s long-term sustainability.
“We have strengthened our regulatory focus as part of [our] broader strategy. Operating within these recognised regulatory jurisdictions and structures provides greater operational certainty and also supports long-term sustainability for us as a company and an industry.
“It gives greater operational certainty because there’s defined compliance obligations on us, and that drives long term sustainability, in terms of, we can say we are licensed here, and we operate legally. That ties in with our product and our sports sponsorships that we can activate in the markets that it’s allowed.”
Alongside aiding in generating sustainable long-term revenue, the shift also imparts greater legitimacy and transparency that will go some way in future licensing discussions with new regulatory bodies. “It [provides] greater engagement, not just with players but with regulators,” he notes.
“The industry perception may not have moved as quickly as we have operationally in terms of licences”
This is arguably particularly important for 1xBet given its history. iGB probed Westbury on whether 1xBet’s past had affected its ability to get licences.
“It’s a reasonable observation in terms of the industry perception may not move as quickly as we have operationally in terms of licences. But it’s an evolving industry, and perceptions can take time to reflect the operational developments and regulatory progress 1xBet has made.
“Our focus is on ensuring the industry, the stakeholders within the industry, understand the steps that we are taking and the frameworks within which we operate. The engagement I am undertaking is a key kind of connector, a bridge bringing everyone together.
“I’m working really hard to challenge those perceptions,” Westbury says. 1xBet’s growing list of licences indicates he is making progress.
Where 1xBet is licensed
1xBet’s first licence was with the Curaçao Gaming Authority in 2007. The company says it now has licences to operate in over 34 regulated markets across the world. Brazil and Serbia are the latest additions to that portfolio.
Overall, Westbury notes that the company is primarily active in Africa, with a growing footprint in both LatAm and Europe.
“We operate across a broad and diversified portfolio of jurisdictions and I think Africa represents the largest component of that licensed footprint for us. We have circa 25 licences across multiple African jurisdictions including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Cameroon.”
In Europe, 1xBet’s licences include Spain and Ireland, while in LatAm the brand counts Brazil and Peru among its licensed locations. Westbury says 1xBet has also obtained licences in parts of Eurasia, including Kyrgyzstan.
The iGaming veteran argues those countries prove its dedication to regulatory alignment.
“There’s a distinct commitment to regulatory engagement, because each of these jurisdictions has distinct regulatory licensing processes aligned to legal requirements – player protection, consumer protection – and they differ significantly market to market.”
Alongside the recently announced important Brazil licence, Westbury says the Spanish and Irish licences are probably the company’s proudest achievements due to the difficulty of successfully navigating those countries’ stringent standards. He adds that there are more major licences in the pipeline that can’t yet be disclosed.
“It’s not just a case of getting a licence for the sake of getting a licence”
Yet 1xBet is not adopting a scattergun approach. It is not a case of launching anywhere and everywhere in pursuit of a larger number of licences or growth at all costs, Westbury stipulates.
With Africa well-covered already, 1xBet’s focus for growth is on Western Europe, as well as other markets where it makes commercial sense and the regulatory environment is stable.
Its presence across key growth markets in LatAm and Africa indicate an intentionality to its growth plans. The iGaming giant, which considers itself a top five global online operator, can afford to take the time to grow right.
“It’s not just a case of getting a licence for the sake of getting a licence. We do study the jurisdictions that we want to enter and make sure they’re commercially viable for us. We will expand our operations where opportunities arise and where regulatory frameworks permit viable businesses.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/where-is-1xbet-licensed-pivot-to-regulated-markets/
