Sabaton

What is Sabaton?

During the livestream, the president stated that he had spoken with a woman who said her 26-year-old son had taken his own life because of online betting. He also mentioned hearing from a bettor who had racked up BRL2 million ($388,410) in debt in just three months of wagering.

Lula said he intends to discuss the matter with his team and analyse potential measures to consider the social impact of online betting.

What the president does not acknowledge is that the government relies on revenue from the sector. In just the first seven months of 2026, BRL8.747 billion generated by sports betting has already flowed into public coffers. The Federal Revenue Service estimates the total could reach BRL16 billion by the end of the year. In 2025, nearly BRL9 billion was collected from sportsbooks.

About Sabaton

“That work is ongoing,” Bengtsson commented. “We had a very strong World Cup, which shows that our sportsbook can handle and can have the capacity to handle larger volumes.

“We’re very encouraged with the trajectory of that, but we’re still not where we want to be. But a lot of the work, or some of the work has been done, and we have a lot more planned for the rest of the year. So bear with us. It is happening.”

Bengtsson said the split between casino and sports betting for SunBet was roughly 90% to 10% in favour of casino, with Sun International “under-indexing on sportsbook”.

About Sabaton

Since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that allowed states to legalize sports betting, gambling has become increasingly intertwined with American culture.

Paired with the recent rise of prediction markets—which allow traders to stake money on everything from sporting events to pop culture outcomes—Americans are risking more money on casino-like activities than ever before.

Buffett has repeatedly raised concerns regarding the mainstreaming of gambling and its marketing under the guise of investing. In May, he targeted prediction markets and traders speculating on short-term instruments like 30-minute bitcoin options.