About this app
What is Aztec Palace?
Raja’s appetite for high-stakes gambling predates his emergence as a prominent property lender. The Times reported last month that he was declared bankrupt in March 2005 with debts totaling around £350,000 ($470,000), a portion of which was owed to casino operators.
His bankruptcy was discharged a year later, though he remained subject to bankruptcy restrictions until March 2009. MFS was incorporated in November 2006 by Pratibha Dewan, who later became Raja’s wife.
Raja, who has publicly described himself as the company’s founder, did not formally become a registered director until 2017.
About Aztec Palace
Despite the increase in remote GGY, new account registrations fell 3% to 32.4 million. There were 25.7 million active accounts at the end of the final reporting quarter.
Funds held in customer accounts also declined sharply. Operators held £886.6 million ($1.19 billion), down 13.9% from the same point a year earlier.
Retail betting diverged significantly from the wider market, with non-remote betting GGY falling 3.3% to £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion). The number of betting shops dropped for a 12th consecutive reporting period to 5,617 premises—a 3.6% annual decline (down 208 shops from March 2025).
What is Aztec Palace?
Durigan recalled that Lula has already made clear his discomfort with the cost and quality of life for people.
“Therefore, we have been having this debate,” he added. “I have been to Congress, the Supreme Federal Court, and the Attorney General’s office to talk about the impact of betting on the lives of Brazilians.
“We have made progress, such as increasing the direct tax to 15% and including the activity in the Selective Tax. Those benefiting from social programmes and those who joined the Desenrola programme were also prohibited from betting.”
