GMB: You have decided to support the GovRisk Integrity Summit in Brasilia. What are your expectations and why did you decide to do it in Brazil?
Christopher Dougan - Legal sports betting in Brazil quickly became an imminent reality last December when President Temer signed PM 846 into law. Since then, we at Genius Sports Group have been hard at work laying the foundations for the exciting opportunities a regulated market will bring.
The Ministry of Economy has already conducted a detailed public consultation and published its initial draft of the sports betting regulation. Findings from their research tell us there is a historic opportunity to develop a legal framework that protects the integrity of Brazilian sports.
Realising the benefits of a legalised betting market, such as tax revenue, job creation and increased consumer protection will only be possible if Brazilian sports are fair, transparent and unpredictable. To achieve this, it’s crucial for stakeholders from betting, sports, government and law enforcement to come together at this vital stage of formulating the regulation.
These parties have a unique chance to share their experiences and industry best practices, helping to create a sports betting ecosystem which ensures the regulated Brazilian sector grows sustainably while tackling the dangers of the illegal market and protecting the future of its sports.
That’s why, along with our partner GovRisk, we’re hosting an event which brings together members of the Economic Ministry, The Superior Court of Labour, the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Police, Brazilian sports leagues and integrity experts.
How does Genius Sports Group believe legal sports betting in Brazil can maximise its potential?
Creating a transparent environment is absolutely fundamental to preventing and combatting match-fixing, betting-related corruption and other nefarious activities. Legalising sports betting will immediately provide greater visibility over a degree of the Brazilian market, but there is a huge amount that government can do to put sports integrity at the heart of the regulation.
From our experiences in regulated markets across the world, and most of all in the UK, we understand that engagement with domestic sports leagues and federations is fundamental to safeguard the integrity of sport and maintain consumer confidence in their competitions. Without this, a regulated betting market will simply fail.
The foundations of this approach are about implementing robust information sharing procedures and education programmes for those involved in sport at all levels, and the use of technology to monitor for suspicious betting activity.
Meanwhile, understanding the power of official sports data in betting will also hold great value in the newly regulated market. By creating an authorised live data feed for distribution to the legal betting sector, Brazilian sports will enjoy a fair financial return for global betting on their matches while licensed operators gain a competitive advantage over offshore counterparts as their in-play products are faster and more reliable.
Official data also hands Brazilian sports leagues and federations valuable transparency and control over betting on their matches, by providing a single source of truth and clear visibility over where their asset is being used.
Once sports betting regulation is approved, can you see Brazil becoming one of the most important players in the market in 2020? Do you think a huge number of international companies will arrive in the country?
With a population of over 200 million and a famous love for sports, the potential of legal sports betting in Brazil is limitless. Such is this potential, recent analysis by trusted research firm, H2 Gambling Capital indicates the industry could be worth over 2 billion USD in the next five years.
There’s no doubt this will attract many of the biggest names in international sports betting. History shows us that the best play in the face of this is to ensure these operators have a local presence. In doing this, local jobs are created, money stays within the economy and long-term local commitment is encouraged. We’ve seen this model adopted in the U.S. post-PASPA, with European giants partnering with the local casinos in all of the 13 states currently live.
What are your thoughts on the draft sports betting regulation presented by the Ministry of Economy? Are there any points that stick out?
Within the highly intricate and complex regulation drafted by the Ministry of Economy, there are elements we believe bode well for long-term sustainability and the growth of legal sports betting.
Encouraging fair competition by opting not to cap the number of licensees will encourage innovation and high-quality customer service, in turn keeping players away from the dangerous illegal market. The decision to attach upfront payments to nine-year licenses will contribute to this too, ensuring operators are committed to the market for the long-term.
And while turnover-based tax systems have posed problems in the past, the fact the Ministry of Economy has cited the 1% turnover tax as equivalent to 6% of GGR indicates they’ve carefully weighed up both models and paid close attention to other markets around the world, learning from the stunted growth in other turnover-taxed markets such as Portugal and France.
As we near the close of the year, how would you describe Genius Sports Group’s performance in 2019? And what are your plans for the rest of the year?
The past nine months have represented a period of major expansion across all of the Group’s divisions and Latin American has been central to that.
We now work with 35 sports organisations across the region, offering a range of services including integrity monitoring and education, and a complete live data collection, management and commercialisation solution.
Our integrity and official betting data partnership signed with Superliga Argentina last month was a particular highlight and there’s plenty more to come.
Adding more Latin American sports to our betting data rights portfolio makes Betgenius an increasingly important partner to licensed sportsbooks in the region, leading to a number of new deals in the past few months, including one with Mexico’s number one betting brand, Caliente MX.
Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil
