Codere Online highlights promising Mexico prospects, scales back Colombian operations

Codere Online isn’t pretending to spread itself thin anymore. The Spanish operator is leaning harder into Mexico, where customer activity is accelerating, and pulling back from Colombia, where new tax pressure has made the market structurally less appealing. The latest quarterly report outlines changes in the company’s approach to the Latin American market, reflecting recent decisions and adjustments.

Growth in Mexico widens the lane for competition

The decision to double down on Mexico opens up room to compete more aggressively in one of the region’s most active online betting markets. Codere isn’t alone in spotting the potential. Players in Mexico already have access to global platforms like LuckyBlock, which is a recommended site for fast crypto withdrawals, a vast game library, and loyalty-focused bonus structures. Codere’s push, timed ahead of the 2026 World Cup and backed by surging monthly actives, suggests a much more aggressive posture in a market where digital-first operators are winning on convenience, speed, and user flow.

The Mexico move makes sense on paper as it is a very open market across various sectors. Gaming revenue there rose 15% year-on-year in Q1 despite a 16% devaluation in the peso, which wiped €5 million off the top. On constant currency, revenue was up 34%.

That kind of resilience matters when other LatAm markets are tilting under regulatory weight. Colombia is the prime example. Codere’s operations there stalled in February after a 19% VAT on deposits came into force. That wiped out margins and derailed the momentum the company had just started building.

Colombia loses priority status

Codere isn’t calling Colombia a write-off yet, but it has pressed pause. No new capital is flowing into the market. Product development has stopped. Customer acquisition spend has been cut. In practice, Colombia is frozen, with no near-term resolution. There’s no model yet that makes the 19% VAT workable at scale. CFO Oscar Iglesias described the situation as “TBD,” which in operator-speak means unless there’s a legal reversal, there’s no viable upside.

Taxed at the point of deposit rather than gross revenue, Colombia’s new framework is unworkable for operators who depend on low-margin volume. The result is a rapid exit not just from Codere, but from a broader wave of regional players reassessing how much risk they’re willing to carry in South America’s more volatile markets. For Codere, the fallout was immediate: no new player growth, no marketing push, no reason to continue.

Panama fills the gap slowly

That leaves Panama and Mexico to pick up the slack. Revenue from Codere’s “Other” segment, which includes both markets, rose 10% in Q1. Panama is maintaining its position and also receiving increased operational attention, product improvements, and showing initial signs of exceeding projections. It’s also a safer play as both Panama and Mexico are more open to foreign direct investment, while Colombia remains unworkable.

The company isn’t promising breakout growth from Panama, but it is quietly making product changes and performance tweaks to lift short-term metrics. Management sees enough to keep investing, though not enough to scale aggressively. If Panama can hold margins and keep growing at low double digits, it becomes a stabilizing asset, while Mexico becomes the primary growth lever.

Spain flatlines as LatAm takes center stage

Spain, Codere’s original core, is stagnating in comparison. Revenue there dropped 2% despite modest growth in active players. It’s a mature market with limited upside, capped by regulation and constrained by saturation. Codere has limited room to innovate domestically, and few levers left to pull.

Latin America, by contrast, still offers room to grow if operators can adapt fast enough to shifting tax policies and customer expectations. Plus, there has been a growing trend towards wider international cooperation since 2022 in this region. This is a strategic change in focus. Spain has become a lower-priority, maintenance market, while Mexico is now the company’s main area of investment and competition.

Codere pulls back to go forward

Codere’s earnings call confirmed that its wider expansion plans are on hold for now. The company is playing defensively, redirecting resources from high-friction markets into bets with clearer ROI. The 2026 World Cup, partly hosted in Mexico, will serve as an inflection point. Management is already signaling a heavier budget for that window, which should give Codere a better chance to expand market share while interest in sports betting spikes.

The Q1 figures reflect that recalibration. Net gaming revenue came in at €57 million, up 8% from the same period last year. EBITDA climbed 44% to €1.3 million, with adjusted EBITDA up 6% to €1.8 million. Despite this, Codere posted a net loss of €0.7 million, largely due to interest costs. Last year’s same-quarter profit of €3.4 million was driven in part by income from interest, not repeated this time around.

Annual guidance remains intact. Codere expects between €220 million and €230 million in revenue for the full year, with adjusted EBITDA between €10 million and €15 million. It’s a realistic range, assuming Mexico continues to grow and Panama stabilizes. Colombia, for now, doesn’t factor into the base case.

Nasdaq listing remains a distraction

Outside of operating metrics, the company also addressed the lingering Nasdaq compliance issue. Codere had previously been threatened with delisting for missing its 2023 annual filing deadline. It managed to file the overdue report just before a final deadline on 12 May, avoiding delisting, at least for now. However, the 2024 annual report is also late, which means a new warning is expected. Codere says it will file by the end of May and plans to appeal any delisting determination.

The issue is more than a paperwork headache. Trading suspensions tied to compliance undermine confidence at the institutional level, especially for a company trying to reframe its growth story around a sharper LatAm focus. Codere wants to move past the distractions and point attention back to Mexico, where the customer base is expanding, and online gambling conditions are favorable.

Mexico becomes the proving ground

Codere’s ability to compete in that environment will come down to execution. Mexican customers aren’t waiting around for operators to catch up. They’ve already shifted toward platforms that treat them like long-term players instead of short-term conversions. That includes smoother onboarding, faster withdrawals, and promotional offers that deliver real value rather than relying on eye-catching headlines with hidden fine print.

LuckyBlock is already a visible player here. The platform’s frictionless crypto payouts and expansive casino offering have pushed it to the front of the line for users who care more about speed and game variety than legacy branding. For Codere to retain relevance, it will need to tighten every part of its user funnel, from payment processing to mobile UX, and rethink how it delivers value beyond just odds and event coverage.

With Colombia sidelined, Mexico will need to overdeliver. There’s no margin for underperformance when your most promising market is also your most essential. Codere knows that. The only question is whether it can keep pace with faster, more fluid competition while managing the bureaucratic drag of public listing compliance.