Next December 3-4, at the Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo, OGS Brazil will bring together operators, product and service providers, regulators and authorities to discuss the current scenario and future regulation of the Online Gameing and Sports Betting sector in Brazil. With the renovation in the benches both in the Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies, it is expected that the regulation of the sector topic will return to the agenda.
GMB - With what expectations do you get to the Online Gaming Summit Brasil, an unprecedented event for our market?
Rui Magalhães - I believe that the OGS will, like the BGC, be a success that will bring together the gaming industry, in this case to discuss the Online Gaming sector, about the economic-social opportunities that legislation / regulation can bring to Brazil.
What will your panel be about?
My panel will be "A world of advantages: what is online gambling and sports betting doing for the economy of regulated markets?", I will present the case of Portugal.
Is this kind of knowledge-sharing meeting something that the country needs to prevent the population from being misinformed about the false "dangers" of the gaming?
Undoubtedly, this sharing of knowledge is, in my opinion, of fundamental importance for those who, in Brazil, have the duty to legislate and regulate. The greater and better the quality of information, the greater the chances of choosing the right paths, thus avoiding some of the mistakes made in other jurisdictions. Of course, public opinion information is also important, but I believe that this type of event finds its exponent of sharing knowledge with the authorities, rather than with the general population.
Can you advance some of the ideas or some data you will present to the public on your panel?
As I mentioned I will present the Portuguese case and I would rather not lift the veil of the presentation ... the invitation to attend the session remains.
Online gaming seems today to be the fastest growing modality in the world. Why do you think this is happening?
The online gaming sector has had in several countries a very interesting growth, although, the physical and traditional game also continued to grow significantly pressed mainly by the Asian countries. According to estimates, the global gaming industry will reach around US$ 500 billionn and the online sector will represent around 10% (US$ 50bn). What is curious is that this ratio has been maintained for some years, which means that both channels have grown (Here we would have to analyze different realities between East and West).
Is traditional face to face gaming business at stake?
Without wanting to enter into great futurologies I would choose to indicate that the channels today have more potential of complementarity than of exclusion. Hence we see such top-of-the-line concepts, such as OmniChannel, showing that the goal of many operations, particularly in Western countries, is to provide an integrated entertainment experience between online and physical.
How do you evaluate the progress of online gambling in a legislative level in Brazil?
The advance has been very slow. It's a market I've been following for the past 3 years.
Do you think that by 2019 we will have an open and regulated market?
Sincerely, with the knowledge I have of these processes, especially in other countries, I do not believe that there are conditions for Brazil to have a regulated market in 2019. If everything went very well, I would believe that a law, containing in itself an open market spirit, could be approved in 2019. However, I admit that regulation will never happen before 2020. Still, I think that would be very good news.
How do you imagine that the new government led by Jair Bolsonaro will address the gaming market in the country?
I believe that Bolsonaro, not being a supporter of the gaming industry, will tend to potentialize a liberalization of the Federal market, leaving each state the option to regulate it. I admit that it will follow the model that has been made in the United States. But we will see how everything will develop when the new president has taken office and constituted the government.
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Source: GMB
