Becky Liggero Fontana asked how to move in a market where the legislation is like a "gray area" in which regulation is not confirmed yet and not face possible penalties. Brazil is one of those cases. “Right now, the way the regulation is, the bill passed and the activity is no longer illegal. Regulation hasn't been confirmed, but in the meantime, it is OK for the business. Proof to that is that everyone else is doing it,” said the CEO of Betcris.
While Latin America and specially Brazil are still considered to be an emerging market by most major sports brands and gambling operators, it continues to show massive potential for engagement. Duarte believes that sports betting has yet to fully explode in the region as people consider sports betting still to be a novelty for entertainment in the region.
“If we were just to wait and see what happens, it would be too late. Because we have all these European and local companies that basically surfaced from Brazil, making deals and marketing to get ahead of everyone,” said Duarte.
He believes that Betcris is perfectly placed in the market to provide sports brands with a new level of engagement in the Brazilian market: “In everything we do, I always try to take solid steps. It is not a gamble for us, there is a lot of work in our business development, regulations and all that. We have a very strong team focused on government relations, regulations, compliance and we observe all that very carefully.”
In the full interview, Duarte also discusses how operators can benefit from exposure to the Latin American market, his insights on market regulation in Brazil: “If someone starting to look at Brazil today to enter the market, they are already late. It will take long time to position themselves because the main properties in terms of marketing and strategic alliances are already taken.”
“We are trying to make the company invincible, and one way of doing it is to enter a market to stay. We are not just taking a chance. And that is the case of Brazil. It is a matter of waiting what the country finally decides, making sure we have everything ready so we can get a license when the time comes,”, he concluded.
Source: GMB
