GMB – First of all, let’s talk a little about your career and what are your activities besides the organization of CONAFUT.
Rodrigo Molina – First, thank you for approaching us and giving us this opportunity. I am one of the partners of THE 360, a school focused on the management of sports and also on technical and tactical issues in football, communication, eSports, among other topics. We have been in the market for more than six years, more than 100 events have taken place, more than 3000 people attended and we are sure that our status with those who have already consumed us is very positive and our challenge is increasing because expectations grow and you always have to meet them. You have to always give more, research harder, study harder to actually develop some impactful qualified thing that has positive meaning for the people who are investing.
What made you accept the idea of Sportradar and include a panel on sports betting in CONAFUT’s program?
This part is very easy. Ricardo Magri has been our teacher for some time; this is a theme that we always talked about in the backstage of these classes and with the impending release of the bets we understood that it is a hot topic. What we are trying to bring here are the subjects that are more relevant, more important at the moment and this is a relevant topic for us to understand, to demystify, because very few people really understand what the bets are, how a website works. Because it’s been created a stigma about betting sites stating that they try to steal, generating combination of results, and other back thing that emerges from a lack of knowledge regarding all the processes and metrics that exist behind these sites. We found a fantastic opportunity, Ricardo helped us to understand the market, to create the panel and then with the collaboration of Victor, from Fortaleza, NetBet staff and Online IPS we were able to develop a good level of discussion and , I am sure, elucidate many questions on this subject.
For you as a football business person, how important is it for companies like NetBet to enter as club sponsors even without a regulation ready for the sports betting activity?
This is simple. We had a very sensitive exit of Caixa from football, it sponsored a portion of a significant percentage of clubs in Series A and B. The sector needs any company that would somehow contribute with financial resources that is very lacking in our market; when I say lacking is in the sense that our clubs have always had much difficulty creating and managing revenue; they have always been very dependent on sponsors. It is important when you have companies that believe in the potential media that football clubs really are; because for me, before anything, they are great media. If companies like NetBet see that power and know how to use these media to promote their business; I think everybody wins. The club with the revenue, the website with the repercussion and their target, that is the consumer.
Do you believe that the success of sports betting sites makes room for other gaming modalities to also see football as an investment target in a future full legalization of the market in Brazil?
I have no technical knowledge on the subject. I believe that the compliance assumptions that were also discussed in our event are crucial for these betting companies to enter our market if they feel safe. Not only them but all the other players also feel safe, and the natural way is that if the gaming market is well seen, the permissions will be increasingly natural, increasing and business possibilities as well.
In the gaming market it is believed that the population should be informed about the benefits of the activity so it can also support the legalization. Do you think football can be a strong ally for this goal?
I think there are paradigms to be broken. There are no casinos in this recent period of the country, there were bingos. I already consumed bingos and had a lot of fun. Out there in more mature economies such as England, the United States, it is also very common. I've been to casinos in Argentina and Uruguay. I think it all depends a lot on the information. We do not have the education, we were not instructed to understand this kind of service, this entertainment offer. As soon as this information is close to the public it becomes much easier for him to understand how it works, and also to consume it so that all parties are satisfied in the process. And football is the biggest media that exists in Brazil. If you can use this media in a smart way you can certainly develop this relationship of the public with the bookies, with the casinos, with everything that is on this circuit.
Source: Exclusive GMB
