The GMB sports betting webinar was supported by Clarion Gaming and sponsored by Betsson, estadium.bet and Betsul. The event had a special broadcast on YouTube with English translation, courtesy of Online IPS. It was attended by Waldir Marques Jr., Undersecretary of Prizes and Draws of the Ministry of Economy; André Gelfi, Managing Director for Brazil of the Betsson Group, who represented the operators in the debate; while Leonardo Baptista, CEO & Co-Founder of Pay4Fun, brought his experience as a provider of payment method solutions. Danilo Pereira, professional trader and influencer on sports betting, completed the panel giving the bettor's point of view. The meeting was moderated by lawyer Luiz Felipe Maia, founding partner of FYMSA Advogados, and presented by Eliane Nunes, of Clarion Events,
When welcoming the speakers and thanking the participants of the webinar, Carlos Cardama, CEO of GMB, recalled that it is in crises that great opportunities arise and that due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, “talk about sports betting and regulation of the gaming sector is perfect timing. Sports betting is already approved in Brazil and its regulation is missing. It is important that this happens as soon as possible for the activity to start operating and generate the taxes and jobs that Brazil needs. We should look at gaming as an important economic activity capable of attracting new capital to Brazil, revolving the economy and promoting a substantial increase in government revenue through taxes. We need this and we hope that the government will proceed with the regulation for the benefit of all Brazilian society.”
Luiz Felipe thanked Clarion and GMB for the invitation to mediate the webinar and pointed out that Waldir Marques has been working for the regulation of sports betting for over ten years, “which in itself already puts him as an important figure ahead of our sector."
Maia recalled that sports betting has just been included in a PPI (Investment Partnership Program) and that this was a goal by Waldir Marques to take the activity to an investment partnership program. When introducing Waldir, he said that it was the work of an entire group to speed up the start of sports betting operations. “As is well known, the lottery is a public service and in order to pass to the private sector, it needs to be privatized, which is why it was entered into the PPI for its inclusion in the National Privatization Program (PND). This will ensure greater speed in the entire process until the start of the sports betting operation, in addition to offering wide competition for the activity. The law passed in 2018 still has some flaws, such as the deal to be given in case of penalties and on the legal security of those who come to invest in the country. In the case of a concession, the insecurity ends, as there will be a very detailed contract pointing out rights and duties for both operators and the government,” he explained.
Within the PPI, sports betting will gain visibility and speed in regulation, according to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy. “The government will treat the issue as something strategic. Today the lottery industry is going through a very big crisis in Brazil due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had a drop of more than 40% in the business. Currently, our physical operation represents 95% of the business and only 5% is online. With sports betting, the online operation will grow substantially and will be good for everyone involved. If they were already regulated and in operation, our revenue would not have fallen so much.”
According to him, the government is already analyzing the issue of hiring consultants by the BNDES for legal and financial advice to prepare all the studies necessary for a good bid for sports betting.
Luiz Felipe asked André Gelfi about PPI and how much it affects Betsson's plans in Brazil. “The law that passed in 2018 left a series of bottlenecks and now, with the inclusion in a broad investment project, it will be very good for the activity. We can say that we are already working on ‘pre-season’ to be ready when sports bets are approved. Today we are licensed in the area of horse racing betting and as we have a very systematic local operation, we will act appropriately in the new reality of sports betting as a whole. In Brazil, as well as in our units in Sweden and Malta, we are focused on the future of this market,” he said.
Waldir Marques commented that the Lotex concession was very difficult for the government. "BNDES did a very interesting and competent job, but it was the first time that it was involved in a privatization process of a public lottery service." So, everything turned into a good experience “and this gives us the guarantee, today, that we are going seriously and with the necessary comfort for the government to adopt the correct measures. With Lotex we opened the market and managed to attract two large multinational companies to Brazil,” he said.
Luiz Felipe opened the floor to Leonardo Baptista, asking him what are the measures currently adopted by Pay4Fun in order to curb money laundering. The executive informed that the company follows all the rules, regulations, and requirements of the Central Bank. “This even goes through the implementation of a series of validations on the first screen of a user's registration. The websites we work for are also looking for security tools to prevent fraud problems. Operators are focused on doing everything correctly, which requires a lot of attention on our part to follow their guidelines and offer them the security they need,” he said.
Danilo Pereira stressed the importance of quality regulation to provide bettors with security. "Both regulations and adequate payment methods and transparency are tools for the bettor to feel safe and not go to sites abroad to place bets on illegal sites," he said, stressing that everyone should stand against illegal operators, including gamblers when choosing the platform on which to place bets. "The regulation must also allow good payments to bettors, so that they do not seek options on unauthorized bookmakers," he said.
Returning to Waldir Marques, Maia questioned the government's strategy for hiring consultants for good regulation, since Brazil does not have so many specialists to offer its knowledge throughout the process until bidding. “BNDES has its own ways of contracting, but if they do not find professionals in the country, they will look abroad. Regarding the law itself, we understand that it needs changes. We identified three points that need to be changed, but we are waiting for the BNDES to hire consultants so that we can discuss such modifications. One of them is the form of taxation, which differs from the rest of the world, since the incidence of tax on the amount collected was approved, while in other countries the taxation is on the GGR. Another issue is the penalty, since it is not provided for in the law, which defines only the revocation of the license and not punishments according to the inappropriate acts practiced. Another issue is the permission for companies from abroad to open offices in Brazil to advise companies authorized to operate sports betting,” he explained.
The Betsson executive was asked about the main challenge to be faced after winning a sports betting license. André Gelfi said that the first will be to better identify the new bettor and understand his needs. “We want to speak his language and safely attend to everything he requires. Especially new players need a lot of attention and we want to be very close to them.”
Baptista agreed with Gelfi in the sense that when entering a new world, that of sports betting, bettors will need a lot of support and the transparent and secure payment method will be an important tool for winning customers. "We must take the user by the hand and give him VIP service," he said. According to the executive, "Brazil is the Mecca of gaming, whether for sports betting or other verticals, and needs to work hard to define consistent regulations that guarantee legal security for all and transparency for bettors."
The question that everyone wants an answer was asked by the moderator to Waldir Marques: "When will the sports betting operation begin?" The Undersecretary of Prizes and Draws said that “I would love to have the answer to that question. We are working hard so that the regulation is ready by the end of the year so that the BNDES will be able to place the tenders on the market at the beginning of 2021.”
Gelfi said that "the regulation must be clear and needs to offer legal certainty to investors, guaranteeing the penalization of those who do not act correctly, as well as requiring operators to act to combat pathological gambling." Regarding the technical model to be adopted by his company in Brazil, Gelfi said that Betsson already adopts very serious and consolidated practices, which will not require major changes in the way it already operates and as soon as the regulation is finalized, and will analyze whether there is some need for adaptation. "We know that BNDES has an unquestionable seriousness in its processes and I am sure that everything will be very well handled and will end soon."
At the end of the webinar, Waldir Marques said that Danilo Pereira's comments were very important, stating that he will look for him in the coming days and during the regulatory process to better understand the side of the gambler, with clear differences between amateur, compulsive and professional bettors, in order to make everything very clear at the end of the regulatory process.
The next webinar of the GMB Live Series division of the “AGORA BRASIL” cycle will take place on July 23, with the theme “Lotteries: How to modernize the most legalized game in Brazil.” Write it down in your calendar.
Source: Exclusive Games Magazine Brasil
