GMB - With the pandemic still underway, how did it impact on Vivagol? Both internally and externally.
Angelo Alberoni - The coronavirus-related pandemic has not only affected Vivagol, but the entire sports betting sector worldwide. Internally, we at BET Entertainment Technologies Lda., the company that owns Vivagol and bet.pt in Portugal, were able to quickly understand the crucial moment for the sector and managed to put our team, 100% of them, working remotely even before the declaration of the State of Emergency here in Portugal and Malta. Planning was essential so that we would not have a major impact on the way we work, allowing us to continue, internally and externally, to offer our products with a very high level of excellence, which is in the DNA of the brands.
During the crisis, what internal measures did the company take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus?
I venture to say that our company was the first in the industry to think and plan about remote work in light of what was ahead of us all with the dissemination of COVID-19. It is good to remember that this transition was a little easier for us because, as I mentioned, planning was crucial, since we were already advanced in the project of having our people working remotely in specific cases, which was put into practice with more quickly, but naturally. As an example, I myself have been working from home since March 9, and the mandatory quarantine in Portugal was only decreed on the 18th of the same month. This is something that gives the entire BET team great pride, as the health and well-being of the team is always placed first.
How do you see the situation of bookmakers once the COVID-19 crisis is over? Do you fear that some firms will end up going out of business?
This is an unprecedented moment for the gambling sector and, especially, for the sports betting vertical. Unlike the online casino, which does not depend on real events to continue to operate, sports betting is highly linked to such events and, with the suspension and cancellation of almost all sports worldwide, it is clear that the whole sector suffers too much. Just this year, the cancellations or suspensions of EURO2020, Copa America, Wimbledon, which have not happened since the Second World War, and the Olympic Games have been confirmed. These are events that generate billions in revenues for the sector and their losses, of course, will be felt. Thus, it is necessary to reinvent the business somehow and Vivagol is not far behind. We managed to have a very dynamic sportsbook and fill, even partially, our offers with eSports, special bets like the BBB20 and the Virtual Games, which are a fever in Europe. Just to highlight the growth curve of this product in Europe, the Grand National, the main horse race in the United Kingdom, this year it was played only in the virtual version and managed to have almost 5 million spectators! Vivagol has a spectacular offer of virtual products and our goal now is to educate customers about such products and show that they can be a good substitute in times of crisis. About some operators getting in the way during the crisis, it is possible that it will happen, but I hope the market will reheat soon and be able to rebuild their brands.
Some bookmakers in Brazil have suspended sponsorship contracts with football clubs or associations. How does Vivagol handle its investments in brand actions or with ambassadors?
In all sponsorship relationships, especially involving football, it is necessary to get a balance, that is, both parties need to reap fruits equally, or at least very close to that. With the interruption of the championships, there is no brand exposure that a sponsor expects when signing a contract of this type. Hence, the balance starts to weigh too much for one side, because, without revenues from the market, in addition to the lack of exposure, the sponsor ends up burdening its side too much. It is natural that contracts, in this time of crisis and absence of media exposure, should be suspended, because digital activations, even if they are a possibility to keep the sponsors' flame alive, are not possible to offset losses due to the lack of exposure and offers from bookmakers. About Vivagol and its contracts, we have confidentiality clauses that prevent us from commenting, but I affirm that our relationship with all our partners is always based on trust and dialogue at all times, always in the search for the best for all parties.
With the stoppage of sporting events, Vivagol has created alternatives to continue moving bets, as with Big Brother Brasil 2020. How was that?
As I mentioned, Vivagol has a very creative, dynamic and attuned team in what happens in the sports betting market. So, as soon as we see the cancellation of sporting events, we look for alternatives to keep our customers' entertainment and BBB20 is just one of them. Of course, BBB20 is very fashionable in Brazil, as the Brazilian has known the program for 20 years and, in the absence of events to cheer and vibrate, it is easier to feed this adrenaline with something you already know. So, it was natural. Only that at Vivagol we go far beyond BBB20. Virtuals and eSports are sensational products! It is good to remember that eSports move a few billion reais around the world and we have some of the best athletes on the planet! Here, the eSports audience is young, between 18-34 years old, a niche market highly faithful to their games. Therefore, we were able to create offers directly for this audience, with lines for modalities such as CS: GO, League of Legends, DOTA2 and many others! At Vivagol, eSports are real!
Another alternative you offer is to bet on the return of football, who will score the first goal at state’s tournaments or even the first to receive a red card. How did you come up with the idea and what is the public's response?
They are very interesting bets! To work in this industry, which I consider within the whole entertainment sector, you have to be very creative! In times of crisis, creativity needs to be at extremely high levels, and it is no different here. Hence, the creation of these offers was almost natural on the part of our product team, in particular, Vivagol's Sportbook Manager, Rosaire Galea, whom, I must point out here, has done a formidable job in these very difficult days. The whole team is trying too hard to bring fun to all of Brazil, but without real sporting events, the job of a product manager is extremely complicated. The public response has been great. Of course, these are not immediate events, and some may take up months to happen, but it does help fans get closer to the idols and cheer for them.
Why do you believe this segmentation has attracted so much attention from bettors?
When you bring names like Neymar, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to an offer, it is clear that your client feels more familiar with your offer and can better identify, or understand, their chances of winning that bet. Thus, I believe that this natural bond, added to the possibility of a little missing the favorite teams and championships, makes this type of offer increasingly attract the attention of consumers.
Recently, you had some problems that caused the Vivagol platform to be inactive for a few days, but with a great job on your social networks keeping users informed about what was happening. Is it true that you received many congratulations from punters for the way that situation was handled?
Our company has always acted with extreme transparency in its relationship with customers. To give you an idea, in Portugal, we have a retention rate above 80% since entering the market and when we think about being in Brazil, this loyalty, transparency and, above all, trust were also transmitted in Vivagol's DNA. In fact, our customers understood the situation and embraced the brand, mainly because we were proactive and very clear. To compensate for this technical issue that our provider faced and affected our products, we made a R$ 20.00 free bet available to all of our active customers in March. It was a way of thanking the support and showing our concern for all those who made Vivagol their sports betting brand in Brazil.
Source: Exclusive GMB
