Infoplay - What has been your last contact with Brazil and its future gaming regulation?
Cristina Romero – Recently, in relation to the invitation by the Brazilian Congress to participate in the regulatory process. It is very interesting the transparent way with which the sports commission of the congress is gathering contributions for the regulators of the online gaming sector in the field of sport betting (called “fixed odd sports lotteries”), which is the product that, right now, is in law 13,756, but with a view to opening the market (hopefully!) to all gaming products.
How do you think this new market will impact the global industry?
Brazil is going to be one of the three largest markets globally. Above all, it will benefit Brazil and consumers of games, by increasing its guarantees and displacing the gray market. Brazil is the penultimate big market to regulate, so the impact will undoubtedly be very positive if it is possible to regulate in a transparent and adequate way to international standards.
What opportunities do Spanish gaming companies have?
If omnichannel is regulated, that is, the offer on the internet and in public places, both Spanish and some British companies have much to do.
What opportunities will exist for sports sponsorships?
No doubt a very relevant issue - even some large operators, for the sake of child protection and the perception of cleanliness in sports competition, are changing their perception. It is something to regulate with precision, without a doubt, and the federations and clubs in Brazil have a very powerful voice.
Can you give us some clue on how will be the tax system?
The law is clear. It reflects the shares of the different entities that will benefit from legalization. Then there will come the way in which the rest of the taxes are required and what we try to expose to the regulators, with all due respect, is where the standard and the red line that makes the operation of games or bets viable or not profitable. Issues such as taxation in developed jurisdictions (including Spain) and also the impact of taxation on the player (example: "netting" of profit and loss) were discussed.
Will we soon see opportunities for operators that have a physical presence as well?
We will see. Brazil will be the only country in the world that only regulates Internet gaming in the first place. Although the work of the congressional commission was very focused on the “online world” both in the session and in subsequent consultations, it is becoming clear the need to regulate both worlds and products beyond sports betting.
What do you think of the public consultation launched and the questions that have been raised?
I think it is an excellent initiative to “listen to the industry”, something that we have been demanding throughout the whole process. I think it is very important to participate and, in fact, we are already processing several responses to get them to SECAP. The questions are quite open and are in line with several of the concerns raised during the meetings we have been having with the regulator and parliamentarians. Let's not forget the “others” section that they have included - it is worth it to be able to introduce aspects not contemplated by the questions and that are relevant to the industry.
What has changed in recent days in the expected regulation? Are times shortened so that the regulated gaming finally arrives in Brazil?
It is certainly a very positive sign that things are moving in the right direction, which is to have a regulation and I know that the regulator is working hard. In these days a very interesting meeting has been held, quite restricted and it seems that we will have regulation by the end of the year. As you know, it depends on so many things! But we will work hard to make it happen.
Source: Infoplay
