Nexus International, the gaming group founded by Gurhan Kiziloz, closed 2025 with $1.2 billion in revenue, tripling its full-year 2024 performance of $400 million. The result establishes Nexus as one of the fastest-growing operators in the online gaming sector, a market projected to reach $150 billion by 2030.
The growth was not incidental. It was engineered through deliberate capital deployment into infrastructure, licensing, and brand development, most notably through Spartans.com, the group’s crypto-native casino platform. Kiziloz channelled a $200 million internal investment into Spartans during the year, funding platform expansion, multi-jurisdictional licensing applications, and high-profile marketing commitments, including a sponsorship of Argentina’s national football team.
The investment cycle compressed short-term margins. Profit dipped 7 percent by year end, a direct consequence of growth spending outpacing revenue capture in the near term. Kiziloz has made no attempt to reframe this as anything other than a trade-off: scale now, optimise later.
This posture distinguishes Nexus from publicly traded peers who face quarterly pressure to defend margins. Flutter Entertainment and Entain, the sector’s dominant listed operators, must balance growth investments against investor expectations for consistent profitability. Kiziloz, operating without institutional backing, faces no such constraint. Every allocation decision is his. Every consequence is his.
Nexus comprises three platforms: Megaposta, the Brazil-focused sportsbook that established the group’s regulatory credibility; Lanistar, which serves European and Latin American markets at the intersection of fintech and gaming; and Spartans.com, which has emerged as the group’s primary revenue driver and strategic focus.
Spartans.com’s positioning reflects Kiziloz’s broader thesis about where online casino is heading. The platform processes both cryptocurrency and fiat payments, offers instant withdrawals, and localises user experience by market. These are not cosmetic features. They address friction points that legacy operators have been slower to resolve, deposit delays, withdrawal queues, and standardised interfaces that ignore regional preferences.
The platform’s marketing has matched its operational ambition. Spartans.com recently launched a giveaway for the MANSORY Jesko Spartans Edition, a one-of-one hypercar custom-built on a Koenigsegg Jesko base.
Such initiatives are expensive. They contribute to the margin compression visible in the 2025 results. But they also generate brand gravity that paid advertising cannot easily replicate. In a sector where customer acquisition costs continue to rise, distinctive positioning becomes a form of leverage.
The original revenue target for 2025 was $1.45 billion. Nexus missed it by $250 million. Kiziloz has not adjusted the narrative to soften the shortfall. He set an aggressive target, fell short, and is setting another aggressive target. The methodology appears unchanged: aim beyond comfortable reach, accept public accountability for misses, and continue building.
Kiziloz’s personal net worth now stands at an estimated $1.7 billion, derived from his Spartans.com brand and his existing stake in Nexus International. None of it came from institutional investors. None of it carries governance strings or liquidation preferences.
This structural independence enables the reinvestment intensity visible in the 2025 results. Where a board-governed operator might hesitate to accept a 7 percent profit dip in exchange for market positioning, Kiziloz made the trade without external consultation. Whether it proves correct will depend on the 2026 performance. But the decision itself reflects a founder who retains full authority over capital allocation.
The online casino market is projected to grow at approximately 12 percent annually through 2030, roughly doubling in nominal terms. In this context, Kiziloz’s prioritisation of scale over short-term margins aligns with the competitive logic of a winner-take-most market. The operators who control distribution, payments infrastructure, and user relationships when the market matures will hold structural advantages that latecomers cannot easily replicate.
Nexus is not yet at that scale. But at $1.2 billion in revenue, built without external capital and growing at three times the prior year, it is no longer a niche operator. It is a contender.
The reinvestment continues. The expansion continues. And Kiziloz, as usual, is not waiting for permission.
Disclosure: Insider Monkey doesn’t recommend purchase of any securities/currencies. Insider Monkey received compensation to publish this article. We don’t guarantee the accuracy of the statements made in this article. Insider Monkey and its principals are not affiliated with the client and have no ownership in the client’s business. Insider Monkey doesn’t recommend the purchase/sale of any securities, cryptocurrencies, or ICOs. Please get in touch with a financial professional before making any financial decisions. You understand that Insider Monkey doesn’t accept any responsibility and you will be using the information presented here at your own risk. You acknowledge that this disclaimer is a simplified version of our Terms of Use, and by accessing or using our site, you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. If at any time you find these terms and conditions unacceptable, you must immediately leave the Site and cease all use of the Site.
