Brazil
Where does the Sport of Kings fit into the Brazilian market?
With a regulated Brazil now in sight, Richard Duncan, Head of Business Development at racing odds and data provider PA Betting Services, assesses the potential for the sport to become a key product in this emerging market
With the last few months having seen Brazil’s sports betting bill clear all the hurdles needed to finally be signed into law, many in the sports betting world have understandably taken a keen interest in the possibilities offered by South America’s largest country.
The home of footballing greats Pelé and Ronaldo and boasting more World Cup titles than any other country, Brazil’s passion for and the resulting potential of football betting is clear. There are a number of parallels to be drawn between a market such as the UK and Brazil when it comes to football. For one thing, the similar level of devotion among the fan base looks set to ensure that football will easily remain the biggest betting turnover generator in Brazil, as it is in the UK.
What’s less clear is how likely racing is to come anywhere near the second place it holds in the UK market, where it accounted for 36% of remote betting turnover in the last set of official Gambling Commission statistics. However, there are a number of comparisons that can be made between the UK and Brazil when it comes to racing. For example, there’s a hardcore fraternity of racing fans and many more casual racegoers, those who are likely to view a day at the races as much in terms of the experience as the opportunity to have a flutter. Not to mention that Brazil boasts the third-largest horse population globally. The thoroughbred industry has been growing steadily since the 1990s, with notable group one winners such as Siphon, Sandpit and, more recently, Bal a Bali elevating the breed’s prominence.
But there’s a huge difference in the local availability of racing. While Brazil’s enormous size makes it the fifth largest country in the world and its population of more than 215 million makes it the seventh most populated, it has just four racetracks, albeit these are well-attended on race days. The UK, ranked 80th by land area and 21st by population, meanwhile, is home to 59 racecourses.
This disparity goes some way to explaining why football is taking the lion’s share of sports betting turnover in Brazil despite currently being unregulated, while racing takes a fraction of this even though it’s been legal for many years.
Online operators could be doing more to cash in on local racing than they currently are. The key to making the most of the Brazilian opportunity is educating the local population on the benefits of betting opportunities that the sheer volume of international races affords and cross-selling this to keen sports bettors.
Filling the gaps
Because while football is unlikely to lose its crown as the most popular sport among Brazilian bettors, the problem with football, NFL, basketball, MMA, golf, tennis and everything else, is that there are so many gaps in the schedule. And once the significant licence fees outlined in the new law have been paid, both local and foreign operators are likely going to need to optimise their product with as little downtime as possible in order to justify their investment.
Racing has the edge over all other sports because on a global basis there exists a full calendar where there is always something to bet on.
In the UK and Ireland we’ve already seen this approach used to great effect with the relatively recent introductions of North American, French, South African, Australian and Asian racing for domestic audiences. This secondary content does well as it lands in either prime leisure hours or is filler at weekends or for poor weather conditions. The increasing globalisation of racing was, in fact, one of the key reasons for our acquisition of Asian racing data provider iRace Media in the second half of last year.
In this respect, foreign operators, some of which have established a foothold in Brazil prior to a regulatory regime and are savvy with this approach used in established markets, may have an edge over others, simply because they’re experienced with the product.
Brazil is likely to be the same as any other fledgling market in the sense that if a company has just started offering a legal gambling product, they are likely going to have greater comfort in offering products to bet on that they are familiar with.
Mitigating the risk
In conversations our team has had with operators in emerging markets such as Brazil, Latam and Africa, the racing knowledge gap is an issue that’s come up repeatedly. They could easily integrate with a data provider such as ourselves from a technical perspective, but they may not fully understand the data they are looking at and some worry this leaves them overexposed.
There are a number of things that make racing more challenging than other sports to trade. For a start, the vernacular used in racing is not something that everyone understands if they’ve not been exposed to it before. In addition, a lot of operators fear racing because while they believe it can make them good money, they know there are people out there, professional punters and big racing syndicates, that know more about racing than their own traders.
This view is not unique to Brazil or even new markets, it’s something we also hear in our core markets and it possibly goes some way to explaining why new operators sometimes take every sport on offer before they get to racing. But inevitably, most take racing at some point because the volume on offer is too great to ignore. However, one recent shift worth mentioning is that more operators new to racing are opting for a platform partner or pricing partner to avoid being exposed to risks they aren’t comfortable with.
This is something that may be even more attractive to operators in emerging markets like Brazil given their lack of experience with global fixed odds racing to date. One thing that may work in their favour is that the country’s bettors would also appear to lack the maturity shown in established markets when it comes to the type of bets they are placing.
For instance, virtually all of the bets taken on football in Brazil are multis, which are bad for punters but which operators love as they are high margin and low risk. A diverse racing portfolio similarly has the potential to deliver high margins for operators and keep players engaged year-round, meaning the product could be just as successful in Brazil as it is in many more established markets.
Richard Duncan is Head of Business Development at PA Betting Services. He has been with parent company PA Media Group since 2002, with the bulk of his career having been spent working in its racing team.
Bazk
IBIA establishes innovative Payment Provider Forum to protect the integrity of the sports betting market in Brazil from financial fraud
Six payment providers have signed a Declaration of Commitment and Participation
In a pioneering move to bolster the integrity of Brazil’s newly regulated and rapidly expanding sports betting market, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) today launched a dedicated Payment Provider Forum with the explicit goal of protecting the market from financial fraud related to competition manipulation. The project has launched with six prominent payment providers already signed up to a Declaration of Commitment and Participation: Bazk, Z.ro Bank, OneKey Payments, OKTO, VPag and Pay4Fun.
With IBIA’s members forecast to generate over 70% of remote gross gambling revenue in Brazil, IBIA will play a key role in protecting the integrity of the sports betting market. Payment providers and other related financial services can also play a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of sports betting. The IBIA Payment Provider Forum has therefore been established to foster collaborative activities that contribute to a robust, secure and responsible gambling market in Brazil.
Regulatory and other institutions linked to financial payments and competition manipulation will be invited to join Forum meetings and engage in the development and implementation of preventative actions against financial fraud.
The Forum will also benefit from IBIA’s extensive knowledge of sports betting integrity issues and trends, obtained from its global integrity monitoring and data intelligence network. That includes many of the world’s largest regulated betting operators, active across six continents, and partnerships with leading sports bodies and gambling regulatory authorities. It will also leverage IBIA’s expertise in establishing industry standards, such as its Data Standards Kitemark.
Khalid Ali, CEO at IBIA, said: “Cooperation between financial services, regulatory authorities and betting operators is essential to address the challenges from financial fraud and to maximise the potential of the sector in Brazil. IBIA is therefore delighted that these major payment institutions have agreed to explore collaborative activities to protect the market. Working together, we can create a sustainable and thriving sports betting market in Brazil that benefits all stakeholders. Cross-sector partnership working is a central pillar of IBIA’s global activity, and the association will be assessing the potential benefits of replicating this group in a wider international setting.”
To that end, the Declaration’s signatories have committed to:
- Collaborate in the development of standards and best practices for payment processing.
- Engage with regulatory bodies to defend a robust, fair and effective regulatory framework.
- Promote responsible gambling and consumer, market and sporting event protection.
- Share knowledge and expertise to innovate and improve the payments ecosystem.
- Maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct and compliance with regulations.
The first meeting of the Forum will take place during SBC Rio.
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FBMDS, a globally recognized provider of online casino games and a leader in innovative video bingo solutions, will sponsor the SBC Summit Rio, one of the most influential gaming industry events in Latin America, taking place from February 25th to 27th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
With the recent opening of the Brazilian market presenting numerous opportunities, the SBC Summit Rio serves as the ideal meeting point for FBMDS to strengthen its expansion strategy in the country. During the event, the FBMDS team of experts will be available for networking and industry discussions, showcasing how its innovation in video bingo and diverse portfolio can meet the demands of the local market.
Following its latest certification to operate in the Brazilian market, FBMDS is confident that its presence at SBC Summit Rio will be a significant step toward solidifying its footprint in the region. The company aims to deepen its understanding of the different player profiles in Brazil and enhance its market recognition.
“Our participation in SBC Summit Rio reaffirms FBMDS’s commitment to strengthening our connection with the Brazilian market and consolidating our position as a reference in profitable solutions for online casinos, combining innovation with our expertise in video bingo. The recent certification of our products in Brazil marks a strategic milestone, expanding our business opportunities. We are excited about the possibilities this event offers to grow partnerships and bring operators solutions that maximize results, always in alignment with the country’s regulations”, says Renato Almeida, Director at FBMDS.
FBMDS brings its pioneering spirit in video bingo, delivering innovative and culturally relevant titles that resonate with global audiences. This year, the brand is set to launch its unique Infinity Series collection – a groundbreaking video bingo experience filled with memorable gaming sessions.
Beyond online video bingo, FBMDS has also expanded into other online casino game segments, including crash games, table games, lottos, and slots. At this event, FBMDS will prioritize direct and close engagement with participants, fostering discussions about the future of digital entertainment in Brazil and beyond, now that its gaming portfolio is fully prepared to embrace the market with its latest certification.
The post FBMDS sponsors SBC Summit Rio, driving its expansion in Brazil appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Grupo Aposta Ganha, the fastest-growing Brazilian sports betting and online gaming platform, has been officially authorised to operate fixed-odds lottery betting in Brazil. The license covers sports-themed and online gaming and consolidates the company’s commitment to a fully regulated and responsible betting market. The Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance issued the license that runs until December 31, 2029.
Grupo Aposta Ganha has strengthened its position as a leading force in Brazil’s rapidly expanding gaming industry, complying with Law No. 13,756/2018 and Law No. 14,790/2023, which govern fixed-odds betting in the country.
With registration number 0022 in the Betting Management System (Sigap), Aposta Ganha is one of the first to be licensed under the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA), part of the Ministry of Finance.
Aposta Ganha is fully committed to Responsible Gaming, instilling these values into every aspect of its operation even before the SPA’s stringent measures were outlined.
Ramon Lima Grupo Aposta Ganha CEO, said: “Securing our license is the culmination of hard graft and collaboration with the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) under the Ministry of Finance. Operating within a regulated Brazilian market has always been our goal, and we’re extremely pleased to play a key role in supporting a sustainable betting market in our country.”
The post Grupo Aposta Ganha Secures Fixed-Odds Betting License in Brazil appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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