GMB: Betinvest participates in BgC for the first time this year. How did the invitation come and what led you to accept it? Did you already know about the event?
Valentyn Kyrylenko: We’ve been working with Clarion Events, the organiser of the Brazilian Gaming Congress, for a long time. We know that all of their exhibitions are high-level events, so we’re always happy to be a part of them.
We thought that the BgC seemed relevant and very useful within the context of our 2019 business development strategy. Since Betinvest are exploring and entering the LATAM region, as well as the Asian and African markets, we decided to participate in this event. Our involvement with the BgC was thanks to Clarion.
What is your vision of BgC?
We’ve been keeping an eye on the LATAM market and can say that Brazil is an attractive location for the sports betting business, especially thanks to the new regulations that Brazil’s government has promised to adopt in 2019. As a leading provider of sports betting solutions, we’re obliged to keep abreast of and be active in the places and markets where the industry needs to be driven.
We’re really excited and looking forward to gaining more experience in the LATAM region and acquiring knowledge about local specificities at the panels, as well as networking and forming new partnerships.
Tell us about your partnership with BgC 2019? Where will the company be displayed during the event?
At BgC you’ll find our team at stand 7. Everyone who visits our stand will be able to test our products and services, to ask all their burning questions and to discuss future cooperation and, of course, receive a good discount for any of the products.
Among the panels that will be presented during the BgC, which would you consider as more important and bring more clarifications to the market?
There are three panels to which we’ll be paying the most attention. The first and most important of these is about the regulations in Brazil. This panel will cover the latest news about the legalisation process in the country and what to expect in the future.
A particular area of interest for our company is the round table about sports betting. There will be a discussion about setting up a sports betting platform in Brazil and some practical advice regarding developing the industry in this market.
The third one that caught our eye is “Responsible gambling in land-based and online operations: educating your customers on safe play”. This aspect of the gambling business is very important to us, especially when we talk about emerging markets, so we’re looking forward to hearing about the upcoming regulatory requirements for responsible gambling, along with the best practices and solutions.
Tell us a little bit more about the trajectory of Betinvest and what projects consider the company for the future legalized Brazilian market.
We want to develop our presence in a number of regions: we’re currently exploring the LATAM, Asian and African markets and adapting our products to meet local needs and requirements. There are various ways to enter the LATAM market, but for now we’re focused on doing more research and establishing strong relations with the local operators and partners. We’re going to develop our B2B brand for this region but still need to find out more about player preferences, as well as the needs and requirements for sports betting products. If we focus specifically on Brazil, the biggest country in Latin America, it’s worth noting that it has a powerful economy and the people who live there love sport and betting. In addition, people who bet in Brazil don’t fall into a specific group: everyone, regardless of their age or gender, likes to place bets.
Long term, we plan to open a Betinvest office in Brazil and to provide our products and solutions to all the local providers who will be able to operate legally under the new legislation. Short term, we’re looking for new partners and interesting projects, researching the market and setting up all the business processes.
What type of regulation would be more convenient for a company like Betinvest to be interested in investing and settling in Brazil?
If you’re referring to the regulation types where either a country’s license works for the whole country, or when each part of the country has its own license then, for operators, it is of course easier to get one license and work countrywide. However, for us as a B2B supplier, it’s usually enough to have product certifications, which we already have. If Brazilian regulators require specific certificates, though, I’m sure we won’t have any problems obtaining them.
After legalization, do you imagine Brazil as one of the most important markets in the world for Betinvest comparable to any European country or US state due to the size of its population?
There is no such a thing for Betinvest as “One most important market in the World”. In my opinion, any B2B company that sticks to one market only is heading for failure in the long run. For Betinvest its more important to find out the range of specific requirements that are applicable to the number of markets, so with the little tweaking of our technology we can open several doors. Brazil is a huge market. It is an excellent entering point to the whole region. Almost all the people living in Brazil love sport and gambling. This region is the perfect direction for expanding the industry. If we were to compare Brazil to the European market, we’d expect that this LATAM country would experience growth comparable to that which has been shown across the whole of Europe if not more. The reason for this is that sport is an important part of the culture. Brazil accounted for about 40% of LATAM gross win for land-based and online gambling last year. With new laws, it has huge potential for growth.
BgC is Brazil's most respected gaming industry congress, providing unrivaled access to ministers, federal deputies, senators and local governors working to regulate this rapidly growing jurisdiction. With fixed odds sports betting, integrated casino resorts and privatization of lotteries under discussion in the Brazilian government, 2019 marks a true turning point in this vibrant emerging market. The event will be held at Tivoli Mofarrej in São Paulo and to register or become a Sponsor / Exhibitor, see all information on the official BgC website: www.brasiliangamingcongress.com.
Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil
