GMB - Tell us a little about the company's history...
Felix Júnior - FutBetNaRede came about due to technological advancement, where we see an opportunity for the football market within this new business modality, which are the startups. Unlike traditional companies, they are looking for innovative and creative ways to become scalable in a short period of time. Startup FutBetNaRede, which is sports betting software with solutions for football clubs, is made up of three partners (I am the CEO, Marcelo Marinho is the CTO, and Marcelo Faria, the CFO) and arose motivated by one of them, who by experience in this universe, more precisely in Natal’s América Futebol Clube, performed various functions such as Amateur Football Director and Executive Director for more than 20 years. He came up with the idea of creating an own betting provider, pioneer in the country, as it can be linked to the systems of any club or sports entity. That is, the club will be ready to enter this huge and lucrative sports betting market. The intention of FutBetNaRede, together with clubs and associations, will be to grab a slice of the market that is currently only exploited by foreign sites, and which in Brazil already moves about R$ 8 billion (US$ 1.95b) per year.
How will the software work and which is its purpose?
Customers will use our platform integrated with their existing club system, either on the website or an application. And through our FutBetNaRede solution being used in the same business environment as the club, the fan / bettor will make his guess by placing his sports bet. Thus, with our solution, the fan can, besides making money by hitting, help his heart club by increasing and fomenting revenue.
FutBetNaRede's goal is to offer an attractive product of unrivaled quality. One of the main merits of the system will be to ensure comfort, security, transparency and ease for players who can play on the club's website or app, as well as pay by debit, credit and bank card.
The FutBetNaRede platform will operate in accordance with the regulations of the country in which it is registered. Our sports betting platform is SSL certified and operates under the HTTP protocol, will respect users' privacy through compliance with data protection laws, have certifications that validate the platform at the level of protection of minors and has additions of “Fair Play”, “Auto Exclusion” and session limits. Customer support is complete and accessible and will be offered in Portuguese. These are very important points that our betting platform will have in our service offering that will be our seal of confidence.
How will fans, by betting, can increase the revenue of the club?
We want to use the emotional component, the fan involvement with his team, the passion for football. In another way, fans love their teams unconditionally, and with our branded FutBetNaRede solution, we will bring technology to reinforce this fan-club relationship, where we will enable the fan / bettor through a reliable electronic platform when making his guess, his sports bet.
This will increase club revenue and presence around the world, because where you have a fan around the world, you have a potential gambler. When the fans/bettors place their bet on the FutBetNaRede solution integrated with the existing system of clubs, the amounts to be contributed will be in their own giving financial reality to the business, as they will have a percentage 5 (five) times more than what they currently receive from bookmakers. In terms of values, the share that belongs to Brazilian clubs today does not exceed R$ 100 million (US$ 24.6m) per year, to be divided among all clubs - speaking of at least the 4 (four) National Series, plus Brazil Cup and State championship. And in FutBetNaRede's opinion, many clubs don't even know they have this recipe.
Did you already partner with some football clubs?
We are in conversation with six clubs of the Northeast and one in the Southeast.
When will the software be released? Where will fans have access to it?
The FutBetNaRede platform will be launched next March 2nd. Fans / bettors will know through the marketing of each club with which FutBetNaRede finally sign deals, and will have access through each club's official website and sports association.
How much will it cost the fan?
Our FutBetNaRede platform integrated with the club website / app will have no minimum value for bets. The fan opens an account on the sports association's website and chooses how much to invest, whether it is through payment of a ticket, credit or debit card, bank transfer or even through sports betting machines, to be defined by the teams. After payment, the credit will be used for betting. We will have various types of benefits, such as a free membership bonus, which awards monthly rewards to platform members, as well as those with the highest number of guesses hit throughout the promotion. We will have welcome bonuses where we will do this work to provide information about the gaming market to those not yet familiar with it, as well as to build users' trust in our integrated platform along with that of the club.
Will this software only cover Brazilian clubs?
No, we are in a very advanced negotiation with the Naval Association 1893 of the Portuguese Second Division. Once closed with them, we want, through it, to cover other potential markets.
Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil
