The exchange of information, experiences and knowledge about the gambling industry at BiS SiGMAS Americas continued this Thursday afternoon, the 15th. The public is having the opportunity to follow debates and lectures in two auditoriums simultaneously.
The intention of the event‘s organizing team is to offer a space for B2B and another auditorium for B2C, focusing on marketing, affiliation, influencers and celebrities.
As with the presentations held in the morning, the iGaming Brazil portal followed the panels in the afternoon. Check out the topics discussed below:
Panel: Lottery in Brazil: current affairs and new trends
This afternoon’s first seminar included Marcelo M. Corrêa (Axis Veritas), Francisco Rolim (PB Lottery), Jhonatas Mendes Silva (OAB Maranhão), Thomas Jefferson Gonçalves Teixeira (Sec of State for Partnerships and Investments) and Rodrigo Schekiera (Lotteries Box).
Marcelo M. Corrêa started the conversation by thanking them for their presence and talking about Brazilian lotteries, a true tradition among the population.
Rodrigo Schekiera pointed out the challenges for the lottery service in the coming years, referring to state lotteries and issues of safe play. For him, the segment is going through a period of growth – in addition to a process of innovation and modernization of the market as a whole.
About the state lotteries, Jhonatas Mendes Silva added: “What we will see is the flowering of a totally new industry”, also talking about the situation of the state lottery in Maranhão.
Francisco Rolim continued addressing state lottery games. “The Paraíba lottery has been on the market since 1995. The state lottery has advanced towards modernization. We try to work with the best practices that exist in Brazil”.
Thomas Jefferson Gonçalves Teixeira brought information about the Tocantins lottery launch process. “This is a project where the government is betting a lot. Our model is a little different from Paraíba and Maranhão, a single lot model. The operator will have the right to explore the entire state, following some specific points”.
According to Teixeira, this lottery could generate revenues of R$ 7 billion in 20 years of concession.
Sports betting
Currently in vogue, sports betting was also mentioned by the panelists. For Jhonatas Mendes Silva, the fixed odds bet is already a great success. “The states have a fundamental role in this. I believe that this regulation must be built with the participation of all actors”.
“That way we can reach an adequate level of maturity. Federal regulation will help us, within the states, to combat this gray market”, he added.
Corrêa considered that local cultures need to be considered. “When talking about regulation, at the federal level, it can serve as a paradigm for each state, where each one must pay attention to local cultures”.
Lecture: Ikigai with Eman Pulis (SiGMA) and Vinicius Moraes de Carvalho (Ikigai Ventures)
CEO Eman Pulis gave a brief explanation on the expansion of the SiGMA Group and the global iGaming segment. Because of this growth, Ikigai Ventures was created. “We approach companies with great potential and invest in them in the long term to see them take off”, he explained.
Vinicius Moraes de Carvalho detailed how Ikigai Ventures works. “Our startups immediately benefit from the brand power and support we offer,” he said of SiGMA’s great potential.
Pulis also pointed out that Ikigai Ventures can help in the evolution processes of rising companies. “We help not only with financial power, but with great exposure”.
Finally, Carvalho highlighted the numbers that the company was able to obtain in the last year and how the group has the potential to leverage brands.
SiGMA Pitch
SiGMA Pitch represented an opportunity for entrepreneurs to detail ideas and solutions provided by their respective companies.
Initially, more than 100 start-ups were selected to present their products and initiatives, but only ten made it to this final round. Each finalist company had 3 minutes to expose their business to their judges.
The specialist in iGaming in Latin America, co-founder of Super Afiliados and CEO of Jericho Eventos, Alessandro Valente was one of the members of the judging panel. The winner of this edition was the company Movement.
Lecture: the North American experience with online games
Stephen Crystral (SCCG Management) opened his talk with an overview of the US market and the potential of betting in Brazil. “Brazil is the greatest highlight of South America”.
According to Crystral, Brazil is a leader in innovation. “A fact that draws attention in the country is that a large number of innovations come from Brazil. Brazil’s evolution is extremely encouraging”.
In addition, he took stock of the North American experience with gambling, as well as its expressive growth in the last 3 years. The CEO of SCCG highlighted the differences between industries in Canada, Brazil and the United States.
“Brazil is the leader in the LATAM market. But we have to think about Brazil and also globally. This is the future”, he concluded.
Panel: Data-Driven Strategies for iGaming Engagement and Risk Management
Edward Dickerson (Greco), Andrew Foster (Enteractive), Jean-Luc Ferriere (Fast Track), Olga Resiga (Softswiss) and Ozric Volvervelden (Greco) spoke about strategic concepts for the iGaming segment.
For Edward Dickerson, data can make the difference when it comes to risk management in the betting industry. Andrew Foster, on the other hand, took the opportunity to present Enteractive, but agreeing that data is fundamental for any organization nowadays. “It is necessary to pay attention to the feedback that these data give us and work on them”.
Jean-Luc Ferriere explained Fast-Track’s processes and the importance of data for tracking information and paths. “I’ve been in this industry for years and one of the most intriguing things about this industry is the number of players and the amount of data. User experience is key and data is a big help in that regard.”
According to Olga Resiga, SOFTSWISS is a reference when it comes to data and the use of quality data to improve the user experience. “It is necessary to learn how to analyze the data, and when you learn to do that, the difference is very big”, he quoted.
Ozric Volvervelden, in turn, said that a solid data strategy is essential to understand where information comes from and where it goes. Even to avoid risks or problems related to it. “Volatility and accuracy are important for this market. There is still a lot to be done and the data is there to help us”, he concluded.
Panel: Legal analysis of the Brazilian regulatory environment
The last debate this Thursday featured Edson Kikuchi (2S Consultoria), Fabiano Jantalia (Jantalia Advogados and Gaming Specialist), Luiz Felipe Maia (Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados), Udo Seckelmann (Bichara e Motta Advogados), Roberto Brasil Fernandes (Brazil Fernandes Advogados) and Rodrigo Alves (Brazilian Sports Betting Association).
Edson Kikuchi kicked off the panel by mentioning that “everyone here is working to create the best possible regulations in Brazil. From the moment that everyone looks towards a common objective, this will go ahead”.
According to Fabiano Jantalia, it is essential to understand the regulatory environment when talking about the betting sector. In addition, he outlined an overview of how the Brazilian sector currently works and how there is prejudice about this sector.
“There is a prejudice about the sector already by the name ‘game of chance’. Who gambles looking for bad luck? We need to try to bring light so that the industry can come. We have to establish rules that come out of this common sense [in relation to prejudice]. we need to open a significant space for the debate of the industry”, he declared.
Felipe Maia also reinforced the importance of knowing the industry so that the rules are fair. “The idea of understanding the industry to know its peculiarities is very important. We have to have dialogue with the regulator. We have to explain how this industry works”.
In addition, Maia spoke about the importance of communication between companies in the sector and the regulator/government to present how the sector operates and ease tax burdens. “If the industry doesn’t work together to approach the regulators to show how the business works, this will not stand.”
For Udo Seckelmann, Brazil continues with a very large inertia towards regulation, implying that the concern is to collect and not to regulate. “The advantage of Brazil being one of the last to regulate the sector is being able to observe other countries and analyze what went right and what went wrong”, he evaluated.
Roberto Brasil Fernandes made a point of praising those responsible for organizing BiS SiGMA Americas, but also addressed the challenge of regulating bets and lotteries. “The regulation is what will make this business a source of benefits”.
“We have something new in Brazil, legal security. The market will now be channeled into a regulated environment. STF understood that it is up to the states to operate their own lottery, to operate their own lottery”, he added.
Finally, Rodrigo Alves told how the Brazilian Association of Sports Betting (Abaesp) was created and analyzed the current Brazilian gaming scenario. “Sports betting is not a lottery, a casino is not a lottery.
Alves also brought a more consumer-oriented view, showing the importance of encouraging a fair and transparent market. “[With an excessive tax] the product that the operator will offer will be bad, with a lower odds”, he ended.
