After the stoppages resulting from the pandemic, the gambling industry is already focused on 2021 and the possibility of regulating sports betting in other countries in South America. Thus, one of the panels of the SBC Summit Barcelona Digital discussed the recent advances in the region.
Where are the opportunities in 2021? The introduction of regulated sports betting across Latin America has been delayed by COVID-19, but countries like Brazil and Argentina (Buenos Aires) are still on the right track.
Which markets will offer the best regulated opportunities in 2021. And what will be the main challenges for European operators and suppliers looking to enter the region?
SBC Summit Barcelona panel topics
The debate, which was mediated by Kristal Rovira, director of Research for the Americas at VIXIO; began by assessing the progress of the regulatory process for the gaming industry in Brazil.
Witoldo Hendrich Jùnior, founding partner of Hendrich Advogados, stated that “the game was finally placed on the ‘Agenda Brasil’. Becoming a key economic issue for the Congress to analyze ”.
Hendrich also cited the Federal Government’s recent confirmation that the BNDES will be ahead of the sector’s legislative and regulatory frameworks. “They are creating the same path as LOTEX (Brazilian state lottery operator). BNDES will have the task of creating a program that finds the best solution to open the market ”.
Before that, he stressed that government agencies were unable to present a unified concept on taxation, licensing and the form of enforcement.
“What the BNDES is going to do is show the government what the best environment is and how activities can be regulated to ensure that Brazil has a safe gambling market for the future”.
Despite the optimistic stance, Hendrich said the country is still at an early stage of regulation.
“From 2021, I believe that phase 1 of the BNDES program will be delivered in 7 to 8 months, but I am an optimist. I have friends who are closer to the congress and they believe that it can be delivered in the second half of 2022 ”.
Argentina’s Situation
The SBC Summit Barcelona conference also addressed the Argentine market. According to SBC Notícias, the regulation of the sector remains confused.
“The Province of Buenos Aires passed its legislation in January 2019. And, unlike Brazil, it held a bidding process that included 14 candidates who presented commercial proposals, competing for seven licenses to be granted by the authorities,” said Tomás García Botta, Partner at MF Estudio.
He continued: “Meanwhile, the city of Buenos Aires, on the other hand, has taken a different approach, placing much lower financial requirements. It is reported that five companies have filed orders ”.
Thus, Botta stated that the province’s scenario was modified to cover local businesses, giving rise to joint ventures with operators from abroad to comply with a fixed measure of the legislator. The context in Argentina is even more uncertain as the province and smaller municipalities adopt the structures of Buenos Aires.
“You cannot have a market, where an operator is paying a tax rate of 30% in a province, but 41.4% within the facilities of a city. There are many things that need to be settled between regulators, he stressed.
Peruvian market
Gonzalo Pérez, CEO of Peruvian operator Apuesta Total, pointed out that the country’s market representatives are waiting for Congress to approve and implement the online game.
However, the stoppage of Congress kept the scenario cloudy. Despite this, the Peruvian market had several recent launches in an aggressive search for customers.
“We have a strange situation, where the government knows how it should be, but has no willpower to sanction the project! The online game, therefore, was left to Congress. This year, Peru has a short congress, as it is an election year. So, they are prioritizing populist laws that will attract the public ”.
Pérez added: “I prefer that Congress does not even analyze the bill for online gambling, as we do not know what the outcome will be and how situations may change this year.”
Colombia is identified as a ‘success case’
The successful development of the segment in Colombia was the last topic addressed by the SBC Summit Barcelona panel. Rodrigo Afanador, CEO of Zamba.co, projects that the maturity of the market will make Colombian betting enter the next stage.
According to Afanador, the Colombian government and the regulatory agency ColJuegos “from the beginning always took the responsibility to regulate betting seriously”.
He added: “It is the opposite of Gonzalo, I believe that sports betting was considered a big deal for Colombia, allowing a population of 50 million people to bet on sports, which carried the old casino taboo.”
In addition, the CEO of Zamba said that the next action in Colombia will be the elimination of the illegal market. “The market is still under construction and has a lot to learn. There are still illegal companies targeting consumers, he concluded.
