In an industry often dominated by institutional capital and publicly listed giants, Nexus International has charted a different path. At the center of this trajectory is Gurhan Kiziloz, the company’s founder and chief executive, whose decision to maintain full control has defined both the pace and the character of the company’s growth.
The global gaming industry has historically rewarded scale. Operators such as Flutter Entertainment, Entain, and Bet365 have expanded through mergers, public listings, and private equity backing, leveraging external capital to secure market share. Nexus stands out as a counterexample. Since its inception, the company has remained fully self-financed, reinvesting earnings to expand into new markets rather than drawing on outside investors.
This founder-led approach has enabled Nexus to reach more than 40 markets worldwide and secure a place among the top 100 gaming operators by revenue, reporting $546 million in the first half of 2025. For Kiziloz, the decision to retain ownership is less about defiance and more about discipline. Without a board or shareholder base to satisfy, the company can prioritize long-term positioning over short-term quarterly results.
Central to this model is Nexus’s governance structure, or lack thereof. Unlike most operators at comparable scale, Nexus does not operate with a conventional board of directors. Instead, Kiziloz oversees the strategic direction directly, supported by a lean senior team. This structure has allowed Nexus to make rapid moves, including its expansion into Brazil following the country’s regulatory approval of sports betting.
While critics of this approach point to the risks of concentrating authority in one individual, the results thus far suggest that the trade-off has been favorable. Nexus’s rapid revenue growth and geographic diversification show the advantages of agility in an industry where regulation, technology, and consumer behavior can shift quickly.
Kiziloz is quick to acknowledge that speed alone does not guarantee success. The company’s growth has been anchored by what he describes as “measured execution”, a willingness to prioritize select markets, deploy capital efficiently, and avoid overextension. The São Paulo regional hub, launched in mid-2025, reflects this approach. Rather than dispersing resources across multiple emerging jurisdictions, Nexus concentrated on Brazil, where market projections suggest $3–4 billion in gross gaming revenue by 2026.
The company’s ability to operate with agility while maintaining discipline mirrors Kiziloz’s leadership philosophy. Industry peers often cite the challenge of balancing growth opportunities with compliance demands. Nexus’s expansion into regulated markets, including Brazil, Europe, and parts of Latin America, shows a recognition that credibility and licensing are prerequisites for sustainable scale.
By 2025, Nexus has joined the ranks of global mid-tier operators such as Betsson AB and Rank Group in terms of revenue, but with an operational structure more reminiscent of a startup. This positioning gives the company a unique narrative: it is both an upstart and a serious competitor, balancing entrepreneurial energy with international reach.
Kiziloz himself has become emblematic of this model. Unlike many industry leaders whose roles shift toward investor relations, his position remains operational and hands-on. For Nexus, this concentration of leadership has provided clarity of direction, even if it departs from the governance orthodoxy of larger peers.
The question now facing Nexus, and by extension its founder, is whether this founder-led model can sustain growth at the next level of scale. With revenue on track to exceed $1 billion annually, the company enters a territory where most peers are publicly traded or heavily backed by private capital. Nexus’s trajectory suggests it can continue without outside funding, but competitive pressures may intensify as more operators pursue Latin America, Europe, and emerging Asian markets.
For Gurhan Kiziloz, the commitment to independence remains unchanged. The company’s strategy for the remainder of 2025 focuses on product expansion, platform investment, and reinforcing its presence in regulated jurisdictions. Whether Nexus chooses to pursue external capital or maintains its self-financed model, the founder’s imprint on its culture and operations is already unmistakable.
In an industry marked by consolidation and institutional ownership, Nexus International stands out for remaining fully founder-led. At its center, Gurhan Kiziloz represents a different path: one defined by speed, discipline, and independence, in an environment where few gaming CEOs retain both control and global scale.
This article was written in cooperation with Gurhan Kiziloz