Entrepreneur Paulo Gerber, CEO of GamersCard and GamersWallet, is very excited about the growth of poker in Brazil and the great resumption of face-to-face tournaments after a period in which the pandemic drove the public away from the tables.
In an exclusive conversation with GMB during the São Paulo stage of BSOP – Brazilian Series of Poker, Gerber pointed out that the edition has grown by more than 20% in number of tables, and that the organization of the main tournament in the Southern Hemisphere will have to look for a new space for the 2023 stage.
GMB - We are in another edition of the Brazilian Series of Poker, in which GamersWallet is one of the sponsors. How was this year for poker in Brazil?
Paul Gerber - Year after year poker has been breaking records, growing and when we think it has reached the size of the market potential, we see that there is still room to grow more. BSOP, for example, already needs to find a new location for its events. Although we are in an amazing area at the WTC in São Paulo, we have all the space occupied. In previous editions there was still some unoccupied area, but this time it is all full.
Have you ever gained the expected visibility by sponsoring BSOP?
We were beginners and needed to tell what we did, but today we reached a level of recognition thanks to our performance in the market. Our branding and brand recognition evolution has had a very large participation of BSOP, so we are extremely grateful. We always celebrate this partnership, very fruitful.
What exactly can you offer the poker player?
We're the client's bank roll. He can manage all of what he allocates from his reservations, whether for recreation or to act professionally using our account for this. And we have an ongoing expansion process that will soon be released on GMB, which involves new sites in integration. This makes the player's journey much easier, as he can choose tournaments. There are many, that are happening in parallel or taking turns and with our proximity to the client we offer all the support and information so that it is tuned on everything that happens in this fascinating online world and also in the face-to-face scenario, since we are at BSOP and expanding to other in person opportunities that are already mapped and with negotiations in the final phase.
The BSOP is not yet over, as we will have a stage at the beginning of the year that should have happened in 2022. But can we consider a good year of growth for poker?
Yes. It was excellent. And this event shows that. We are 20% more in the number of tables, but the expectation is that by the end of the tournament this number will also be reflected in the number of entries.
From a strategic point of view, was sponsoring the BSOP a great opportunity to get even closer to this audience?
It was a great opportunity. There are other ways to reach the customer, but reaching the main poker audience, the most assiduous customers, is undeniably a great opportunity. In this world, word of mouth is worth a lot. Each friend tells to another our solutions. And in this particular edition, we're doing the "Half Mile GamersWallet", which is being one of the great sensations in this BSOP edition. It's a new tournament and we've signed the naming rights, which has aroused a lot of interest in the community. It's a privilege to have our name in a BSOP tournament. We create a benefits package specific to all customers who buy-in using GamersCard or GamersWallet. We want to honor our customers who use our product in the tournament. One of the main differentials is that our customers can use the balance on gaming sites and particularly on PokerStars, a BSOP partner, to turn into real and pay the buy-in, very easily.
Are both GamersCard and GamersWallet already perfectly consolidated in the poker market?
Yes. I felt it in my skin because I remember following our team before the pandemic and we needed to tell everyone what we were doing and who we were. Today, that has changed and everyone knows who we are and what we offer. Not only by BSOP, but also by the marketing actions we carry out. But it is undeniable that BSOP was a great partner on this journey and a lever for our brand positioning.
At the same time came the PIX, a system that becmoes a key payment method for companies. Today it's an over-the-top tool for GamersCard and GamersWallet!
Exactly. PIX makes the player's life much easier. It solved important issues such as the cost of transfers, as well as speed in cash-in and cash out transactions. We are doing everything we can to serve our partners well, including PIX processing. We believe that for the customer who has more habit of playing is very worth using our product, since it is as simple as the PIX and we can do the whole operation at the same time as the PIX, as long as he has registration with us. With the advantage of having the possibility of transferring values from one tournament or poker site to another through us. We must take advantage of everything that comes in the market to add functionality to our products to offer a unique experience for customers.
Already consolidated in the world of poker, what is next for GamersWallet and GamersCard in the sports betting area?
Poker and sports betting talk very well. Our poker client is definitely a bettor by nature. We have several integration processes to place our services to betting sites. The player may use the same instrument to play poker or place sports bets. It's going to be a big hit. Brazil is the ball of the time and all global operators are seeing the country this way. And we're going to surf this wave along with these sites.
Is this the right time for you to enter this market?
No doubt it's perfect. We're going to have a lot of expansion ahead of us. We have a huge poker client base that has a total match profile with those of a bettor in the most varied sports that the industry offers, including eSports.
Where and when will we see the name GamersWallet or GamersCard on sports betting sites?
With whom, it is still a surprise that we will be telling to GMB audience soon. And there are several. The expansion process is accelerated in this segment. By the end of the year some sites will enter and in early 2023 many others will start operations with us. We are with the technical integrations already completed and planning the launch.
Are integrations technically smooth?
They are because API's are very simple to integrate. The challenge is to get a window into the technology areas for a new demand, because the priorities are many. The integration itself is easy and has been doing very well on all the sites we are working with.
And you get to the betting sites one more product, which is the GamersCard and GamersWallet customer base!
Yes. We bring to these partners a ready, mature and heavy user customer base, with great adherence to this business profile. We will certainly add volume, value and facilities for both sides, end consumer customers and partner sites.
Source: Exclusive GMB
