During the EGR Latam Power Summit (eGaming Review), held on February 28th and March 1st in Buenos Aires, the iGaming Brazil portal interviewed the Brazilian panelists present at the event. A highly exclusive meeting for leaders of the igaming market in Latin America at the exclusive Hilton Hotel in Puerto Madero.
Witoldo Hendrich Jr., from Hendrich Advogados, who participated in the Panel “Progress and politics in Brazil: the year that begins for the “sleeping giant” – accompanied by Thomas Carvalhaes (VaideBob), Neil Montgomery (Montgomery & Associados) and Camila Carvalho (Pay4Fun), was one of the guests to talk to the portal.
On panel, Pay4Fun’s lawyers and business development manager debated Brazil’s years in the regulatory gray, with openly partisan views on the sector and seemingly endless speculation about the potential the sleeping giant holds, pondering whether 2023 could finally be the year for Brazil.
What will be the challenges for international operators and suppliers that want to enter this vast and lucrative market? This was one of the questions asked to expert Witoldo Jr.
See the full interview
iGaming Brazil – Witoldo, with the bill currently awaiting presidential approval that would set the course for the regulation of betting and odds betting, do you think things are about to change in Brazil?
Witoldo Hendrich Jr. – Things have been about to change in Brazil for at least 6 years, haven’t they? But it seems to me that the government understood that it is not a matter of regulating just to regulate an activity that already exists. The government seems to have understood that the regulation of gambling leaves taxes, jobs, and this is important for the social agenda that the new government intends to implement. So I imagine that regulation has a great appeal, I think the government is going in that direction, not because of the desire to regulate the game itself, but to regulate an activity that will bear fruit and that will enable the sponsorship of projects that are important for the government.
iGaming Brazil – What is the importance of this event? What is covered here that other events are not?
Witoldo Hendrich Jr. – The EGR is one of my favorite events. I’m even afraid that people from other events will hear me, but I like EGR a lot because in general, since the first edition that I participated, what is found here are decision makers, so here is a place that doesn’t have conversation everyone comes here to talk about their business, talk about moving things forward, how to improve. This is the great attraction of the EGR is not the number of people, because if you look you will see that there are always few people, but the quality of the public, which is a decision maker.
iGaming Brazil – What caught your attention at the EGR Power Latam Summit?
Witoldo Hendrich Jr. – As I said above, the quality of the participating public and the decisions that are made here. Quality over quantity.
iGaming Brazil – What will be the challenges for operators and international providers that want to enter this vast and lucrative market?
Witoldo Hendrich Jr. – The biggest challenges that I think operators will have, by all indications, will be dealing with the tax burden that Brazil intends to implement. We heard Neil (Montgomery) on the panel here saying, Brazil will not give up, for example, taxing players. If we take a look around the world, there is no regime, no jurisdiction where the game has worked and has taxed the players. And Brazil seems to want to move in that direction. It’s a mistake, but that’s okay, as we say “Give a chance”, let’s see how it goes. The biggest challenge will be the tax burden of all this, along with when it becomes legal, no operator will have any difficulty, he already has in his jurisdictions to deal with the regulator there, so it will be an adjustment here and there, but the big challenge will be the tax burden.
