About this app
What is Holiday Spirits?
This can be difficult, however, as Atucha explains some larger platforms entering LatAm will only work with tier 1 operators, rather than helping smaller companies develop. “It’s challenging because first, whatever you would consider a tier 3 or a tier 2 or even a startup in an emerging market like Latin America can eventually become a tier 1 operator,” Atucha suggests.
“We’ve got lots of cases, EstrelaBet being one of them. They started from nothing and they grew a lot. And probably platform suppliers will have ignored them and regret that later on. You’ve got lots of cases like that.”
Atucha suggests global scale is only an advantage for international operators when it is executed with a local perspective. Having been in the Peruvian market since 2008, Betsson boasts considerably more local experience than a newer international entrant. “We have seen it all,” Rossi says.
What is Holiday Spirits?
In January 2024, before locally licensed online operators were active, the Authority said it had recorded about 510,000 monthly cases of Botswanans participating in illegal online gambling.
Sunbet Botswana launched its online sports-betting platform in February 2025 and reported a 4,700% increase in sign-ups during its first month. As this was an operator-reported figure, the company did not publicly disclose the comparison baseline or absolute number of registrations.
The Authority said licensed operators accepted P150 million in wagers in March 2025, paid P135 million in winnings and generated P15 million in gross gambling revenue. It also estimated that only about 40% of Botswana’s estimated 550,000 active bettors were using licensed local operators, leaving a substantial share of demand with unregulated platforms.
What is Holiday Spirits?
U.S. News reported that only 17% conceded sports betting is negatively affecting their financial health. By contrast, twice as many respondents (34%) claimed gambling on professional and college sports has had a positive impact on their finances. About half (49%) reported that sports betting has not impacted their bank accounts either way.
Some respondents, however, shared severe personal consequences.
I have lost money that was going to be used for my kids’ Christmas presents,” said one respondent. “It led to stress with my wife after having to borrow from her parents to make up that money.”
