GMB - How was this project born with the Pelotas Jockey Club?
Nilander Saraiva - We are from the same city as the Jockey Club. We have a number of customers in the region, in other parts of the country and also abroad. We have experience in developing websites, systems and social media management, so we were asked by current Jockey president Nathan Vanier about developing the internal system and betting site for them, and since then we have started planning and executing.
What are the key innovations and advantages of this new service for the JC and the bettors?
Pelotas Jockey did not have an integrated local and online betting system (online was not possible), this being the main innovation and advantage that we will offer initially. We will also be able to integrate the data, in real time, with the live broadcast, which was already done by the JC, offering players more information for their analysis before betting.
In the future, integration with messaging and totem services, in the Jockey itself or in other places where public movement is interesting, is in our planning, as well as other possibilities still in the early stages.
How can technology help to integrate Jockey ticket counters and online betting? Are you ready to offer it to the rest of the country's JCs?
A Jockey Club needs this integration, which gives local bettors the possibility of higher winnings, with online betting integrating with prize pooling; and the opposite step is also valid, with online bettors also integrating their winning possibilities with bets placed at ticket counters. The ability to reach an audience that does not yet have the horse racing betting culture online is also important and we will certainly be looking for it from the moment the site goes live.
We are currently working specifically for the Pelotas Jockey Club. But surely, we will be able to provide this service to other Brazilian Jockeys in the future as well. This possibility revolves around opportunity. In Pelotas, we receive it and we are working incessantly on it. If other Jockeys are also interested in our services, we will look into the possibility and, if possible, seize on these possible new opportunities.
Why do you think that the system you developed is considered a pioneer in the country?
We are developing an integrated system, made entirely by a Brazilian company, to serve a market that is not so evident right now. It is natural for this to be viewed in this way. But we do not think about it. Our focus is just to get our work done and deliver a functional, stable and intuitive system for use at ticket counters and an online betting site.
How can this pave the way for other Brazilian companies to create their own gambling sites?
From the beginning, we have at Pelotas Jockey Club a vital partner for system development. We are aware of the steps being taken towards the regularization of the online gambling market in our country, but in principle, having a strong partner, as we have, is essential to start such a project.
When the stakes are fully legalized, there will surely be a lot of giant companies invading the market. Possibly, those who try to take risks on their own cannot survive in the midst of so many companies. Therefore, we see that a strong partner, as we have, will be essential to open this path.
Have you noticed a boom in sports betting within the country? Have companies been looking for professionals like you to create gambling applications and websites?
We are a small market, so we are not looking for such services. We follow the movements, but nothing very significant so far has come to us.
How to stand out in this market when betting is regulated in Brazil and companies start investing all their chips in this area? Do you believe that Caixa could be interested on deploying it on its lottery network?
Having a strong partner, working with honesty and motivation, developing a good product that meets the most varied types of audiences.
Caixa could certainly be a prominent player in this market, as it has a gigantic network in our country. But integrating with a partner of this size requires the execution of a gigantic process, and that it could only cater to large investment firms.
Source: Exclusive GMB
