GMB - What technological advance trends do you think we will see this year in your sector?Leonardo Baptista - I believe mainly in a lot of investment in the security issue. Transactions are increasingly secure and the Central Bank of Brazil came up with a revolution for the market, with the launch of Pix. They continue to advance the development of the product, which is an encouragement to everyone involved in the payments area.
I understand that our sector must be structured locally and be aware of the issue of credit card purchases with the 3DS. It already exists abroad and in Brazil some companies are already starting to offer this tool, a double validation of the card PIN password at the time of purchase. This helps a lot in terms of security and also in the cash back of transactions.
How far do you envision the player's customs and requirements to satisfy in 2022?
I don't believe that customers will have many requirements to satisfy, from a technological and security point of view. What the customer always wants – and this is what we offer – is a differentiated service focused on their expectations. I understand that excellent service will continue to be the most appropriate tool to win over and retain customers.
How do you think the pandemic will affect business results in 2022?
Our player became more and more online due to everything that happened during the health crisis. This affected business for good. Our market was already online, with sports betting, bingos and casinos, but with the pandemic, many people stopped spending on physical entertainment to migrate to online, which had a positive impact. Once customers have experienced this, they will not stop just because we are coming out of the pandemic. The market will only grow. Players are increasingly demanding in the sense of “user experience”, so the website and the application must be increasingly easy, pleasant and easy to navigate, in addition to being very secure. In 2022, the focus will be on information security and the pandemic is following its rhythm worldwide, but here in Brazil, thanks to the vaccine, we are a little calmer.
Which markets and/or countries do you see with more chances for progress and opportunities for growth?
Pay4Fun is expanding into Latin America in the first half. We are going to attack the markets of Mexico, Chile and Peru. For the second half of the year, we are looking very carefully at Canada and Argentina.
Do you think that restrictions on gaming advertising will be deepened globally?
What is happening in Europe will not happen in the United States and Latin America in general. I think it will be just the opposite. With Brazil moving towards regulation, I believe that the advertising segment will explode. Just look at the number of football teams that already have sponsorship, as well as the advertising campaigns on open TV. In our case, we have a strong partnership in Stock Car and we will expand to other sports. Advertising restrictions must not reach our market.
What do you envision for the Brazilian market in terms of gambling legislation and regulation?
I particularly understand that we are in a moment that we have never lived. We are moving towards regulation, but it is an extremely delicate political year. I think everything will be ready for regulation, but it shouldn't go to a vote in the Senate this year and become law. We have a deadline to regulate sports betting, but I think they will find a way to move it to after the presidential elections.
What are your company's main goals for the year? Are you planning more releases or developments than in 2021?
Our focus, as I have already mentioned, is the new markets. In Brazil, we are working hard on the issue of technology and security, in addition to the usability of the platform and ease of payment methods for our end users. Today, we can pride ourselves on making a 3-second payment for our customers. We will work hard to expand into the Latin market, without losing sight of the quality of our service in Brazil.
To reach your goals this year, do you plan to make more investments and hires than last year?
We are already investing and expanding our facilities in Brazil, thinking about expanding the team, in addition to preparing for investments in offices in each of the countries where we will open units (Chile, Peru and Mexico). Our team today is made up of more than 50 direct and indirect employees and by the end of the year we will have tripled these numbers.
What kind of sponsorships or marketing actions to promote your company's products and services do you think will be the most relevant this year within your roadmap?
We are expanding our partnership at Stock Car, where we will appear with surprises for the category, in addition to having a brand ambassador, Rodrigo Garrido, Brazilian poker champion. We are also going to move forward with Rafinha Bastos, an excellent comedian, as another ambassador for 2022. We are preparing other marketing actions that will be a good surprise for the market and we will soon start publishing them. I can say that we are working more and more to be “Fun”. This is the purpose of “Pay”.
In your view of the global market, do you consider that 2022 intends to be a year with more mergers or acquisitions of companies than the previous year?
It is the natural order of things. More and more the big players will have to come to absorb small and medium businesses. And this not only in the gaming area, but also in the financial and even global area. This is normal. Large companies, with their size and financial power, understand that acquiring intelligence is worth much more than developing it. And that makes a lot of sense here in Brazil, both in the gaming and financial sectors.
Could you name three events within your industry that will be pivotal in 2022? Why did you choose them?
I can't help but mention ICE. We were all planning to go in early February to the London Fair, which should take place in April or even mid-year. We were invited to participate in ICE Vox, during the event, in which we will talk about Brazilian and LatAm payment systems. We are also looking forward to Malta at the end of the year.
But we have, without a doubt, the BiS. The 2021 Brazilian iGaming Summit was phenomenal for Pay4Fun and we are really looking forward to participating in the 2022 event, which will be much bigger and with an even bigger audience. I'm sure it will be the most important in the sector in the region.
Source: Exclusive GMB
