• Stake has officially launched in Mexico via stake.mx, offering sports betting and casino products under a permit-based structure regulated by SEGOB, operating as an agent under Uno Capali's licence agreement
• The launch is strategically timed ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico is co-hosting alongside the US and Canada, with the tournament expected to drive significant sportsbook acquisition and engagement activity across the region
• Online gaming revenue overtook land-based revenue in Mexico for the first time in 2025, underlining the market's rapid digital transition and the scale of the opportunity Stake is moving into
• The Mexico launch extends Stake's Latin American footprint, which already includes Peru and Colombia, and forms part of a broader strategic push into regulated local-currency markets as the brand looks to build credibility beyond its crypto-led global operation
• Stake has signed former Belgian international Eden Hazard as its World Cup ambassador, adding a high-profile marketing presence to complement the platform launch ahead of the tournament

Stake Has Picked Its Moment in Mexico, and the World Cup Is Central to Everything

Stake has made its Mexico entry official, going live via stake.mx with a full sports betting and casino offering in one of Latin America's most commercially significant and rapidly evolving gambling markets. The launch, operated under a SEGOB permit structure as an agent under Uno Capali's licence, arrives at a moment when Mexico's online gambling sector is accelerating and the country is preparing to co-host the biggest sporting event on the planet.

The structural backdrop to this launch is compelling. Online gaming revenue in Mexico overtook land-based revenue for the first time in 2025, a milestone that marks a definitive shift in how Mexican consumers are choosing to gamble. A young, mobile-first population with a deep cultural connection to sport, combined with evolving regulation and growing operator appetite for the market, has created the conditions for rapid digital gambling growth. Stake is not the first international operator to recognise that opportunity, but the timing of its entry gives it a specific and significant commercial advantage that most of its rivals have already missed.

Mexico is a co-host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Canada, and the tournament is expected to generate a wave of sportsbook acquisition and engagement activity across the region that will dwarf anything the Latin American market has previously experienced in a single event window. For an operator launching now, building brand recognition and a player base in the months running up to the tournament is the strategic play, and Stake has positioned itself to capitalise on exactly that dynamic.

Stake director Jarrod Febbraio described Mexico as an important and exciting market combining strong underlying growth with a deep cultural connection to sport, framing it as a natural progression from the operator's existing Latin American presence in Peru and Colombia. His reference to moving with precision into high-value markets at the right moment reflects an awareness that the World Cup window is finite and that establishing a meaningful presence before the tournament begins is materially more valuable than launching during or after it.

The appointment of Eden Hazard as Stake's World Cup ambassador adds a recognisable international face to the marketing effort. The former Belgian international brings significant name recognition across Latin American football markets where his club career at Real Madrid generated a substantial following, and his association with the brand during the tournament period will extend Stake's visibility well beyond its existing player base.

The Mexico launch is also part of a broader strategic narrative for Stake as a business. The operator built its global reputation and scale primarily through a crypto-led model with extensive celebrity partnerships, most notably with Drake and mixed martial arts champion Alex Pereira. That model has delivered reach but has also attracted regulatory scrutiny and reputational complexity in some markets. The move into locally regulated, local-currency markets like Mexico, Peru and Colombia signals a deliberate effort to build a more conventional regulated operator identity alongside the crypto brand, broadening Stake's commercial appeal and regulatory credibility simultaneously.

Mexico's draw for the World Cup group stage, placed alongside South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic, gives Mexican fans a competitive but navigable path through the early rounds, sustaining national engagement with the tournament deep into the summer and providing Stake with a sustained period of elevated betting activity in its newest market.

The World Cup Timing Transforms This From a Market Entry Into a Growth Catalyst

Launching in a new market and launching in a new market three months before it co-hosts the World Cup are fundamentally different commercial propositions. The World Cup concentrates betting activity, drives mass consumer awareness of sports betting brands and creates a level of engagement that a normal market entry timeline would take years to generate organically. Stake has structured its Mexico launch to capture that accelerant effect, using the pre-tournament period to build the brand, acquire initial users and establish operational credibility before the event drives the kind of traffic that stress-tests new platforms and rewards operators with existing player relationships. The operators that will dominate Mexican sports betting in the medium term are likely to be those that used the World Cup window effectively rather than those that arrived with the best product six months later.

Mexico's Digital Tipping Point Makes the Market Timing Exceptional

The crossing of the online-over-land-based revenue threshold in 2025 is not just a statistical milestone. It marks the moment Mexico became a digital-first gambling market, which changes the competitive and commercial logic of operating there significantly. In a market still transitioning from retail to digital, the most effective operators are those who can execute both channels. In a digital-first market, the competitive advantage shifts entirely toward user experience, product breadth, marketing reach and brand trust. Stake's global digital infrastructure and its celebrity-driven brand model are specifically well-suited to competing on those terms, and entering at the moment the market tips digital rather than before it does means the investment required to build a retail presence is unnecessary.

The Regulated Market Push Reflects a Maturing Strategic Vision

Stake's expansion into regulated local-currency markets represents a meaningful evolution in how the business is positioning itself for the next phase of its growth. The crypto-led global model that built the brand has real limitations in an environment where regulatory scrutiny of unlicensed and crypto-native gambling operators is intensifying across multiple continents. Building a parallel regulated operator identity, with proper licensing structures, local currency support and compliance frameworks in place, gives Stake a more durable commercial foundation and opens doors in markets that would otherwise be inaccessible. Mexico is a meaningful step in that direction, and if the World Cup launch delivers the user acquisition results the operator is targeting, it will strengthen the business case for accelerating that regulated market push into further Latin American and potentially other jurisdictions where the brand has existing awareness but no licensed presence.

Sources

• Stake.mx — official Mexico operator site
• SEGOB — Mexican Ministry of the Interior, gambling regulator
• FIFA 2026 World Cup

Why This Matters

iGaming Times analysis: Stake's Mexico entry signals a strategic pivot from crypto-native expansion to local-currency regulated markets. The World Cup timing isn't coincidental — Mexico's co-hosting role with the US and Canada creates a six-month sportsbook acquisition window that's hard to replicate. With online gaming revenue overtaking land-based for the first time in 2025, operators that establish branded presence ahead of the tournament compete from a stronger position than late entrants.

Related Coverage

For broader context, see our coverage of sports betting regulation globally and crypto and blockchain gambling.

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