Exclusive to Rui Magalhães and Estoril Digital, we will be the first to operate with Casino, Sports Betting and Poker.

In an exclusive interview, iGaming Brazil speaks to Rui Magalhães, Senior Director of Business, Technology and Operations at Estoril Sol Digital (ESD), the first company to launch a legal online casino in Portugal. ESD is part of the Estoril Sol group, which has been operating for over 50 years with its various casinos: Casino Estoril, Casino Lisboa and Casino da Póvoa.

The ESConline.pt website started in 2016, when the Portuguese law for Online Gaming came into force, and is an Estoril Sol Digital, Online Gaming Products and Services, S.A. brand. which, as mentioned, is part of the largest and most prestigious group of casinos in Portugal, the Estoril Sol Group.

Having been the first website to legally offer online casino games, this platform offers the same games as any land-based casino in Portugal. Most of the games available on ESConline.pt are online slot machines, online blackjack and online roulette, and Banca Francesa offering greater variety and interaction than traditional games, according to Rui Magalhães.

Check out the exclusive interview with Rui Magalhães, from Estoril Sol Digital

Last year, the company was awarded by Great Place to Work® as one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Portugal’ in the ‘Size less than 100 employees’ and ‘General Ranking’ categories, occupying 6th and 14th places, respectively.

iGaming Brazil – When did you assume the Executive Directorship, Rui Magalhães? What was your relationship with iGaming up until that point? Do you believe that one must have a certain vocation for this work?

Rui Magalhães – I started collaborating with the Estoril Sol group on this project in 2014 and I was on the team that launched Estoril Sol Digital in 2015, at which time I was invited to take over the direction of the company. I have been linked to the entertainment industry, and in particular gaming, since 2005, when I joined the Estoril Sol Group’s Management team, leading the entire technology area.

I was involved in several important projects, such as the construction of Cassino Lisboa, as well as all the renovations that took place at Cassino Estoril. Coming from the telecommunications area, where I worked for six years, the intersection between gaming and the internet was natural – iGaming.

In 2010 I did the first academic study in Portugal on online gambling, which was the work of my master’s thesis, and I continued to study the industry already in my doctoral program. I remained connected to the industry and, in 2013, took over the Operations Department, as COO of Mediatech in Madrid, shortly after the regulation of the market in Spain.

iGaming Brazil – What has changed in the betting market after the beginning of the pandemic for Estoril Sol Digital? Was it better or worse?

Rui Magalhães – The pandemic was an unavoidable event and I believe that all industries, without exception, had to adapt. The gaming industry was no exception and there were many challenges we had to deal with. There is a certain relativity in trying to define worse or better, since, in fact, there was no option. It wasn’t something we could choose.

Still, in a purely hypothetical scenario, I have no doubt that the pandemic was a disastrous event for our industry. The myth was created that there was an exponential growth in this period and this does not correspond to the facts. That is, it is necessary to look at the market before the pandemic and its growth in previous periods.

As well as understanding other variables associated with the organic growth of the market, in addition to the “pandemic” variable. Even more, if we look at the exclusive sports betting market, then we realize that there was no such growth, because in the first year of the pandemic, sports competitions were suspended for several months.

In fact, I believe that if there had not been a pandemic, given the economic conditions at the beginning of 2020 – full employment, excellent growth projections and the natural confidence of economic agents – caeteris paribus (all other things being equal) the market would have grown, eventually, more than grew given the growth trends that came from previous years since 2016, in particular, the growths observed in 2018 and 2019.

iGaming Brazil – And now with the apparent tranquility of the protocols and return to our almost normal life, how does it affect the betting site?

Rui Magalhães – At the moment the challenge is that of a deep economic crisis, as a result of the pandemic, aggravated by the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. Distrust in a good economic perspective retracts economic agents who, naturally, reduce their availability to spend on entertainment activities.

iGaming Brazil – Tell us what it was like when you started running the company? What was the profile of the player / bettor then and what is it like today?

Rui Magalhães – The online player is on average about ten years younger than the physical casino player. Most of them are men and live in large urban centers. It should be noted that online gambling has existed in Portugal since 2002, it took 14 years for the activity to become legal. However, there was already a mature market of punters and gamblers. A market that, naturally with the legalization and democratization of gambling in this way, has been increasing and gaining fans among a young adult population, more digital and connected to online.

iGaming Brazil – What security measures does the company adopt to give its players online?

Rui Magalhães – The safety of our players is an essential point of our operation, whether in terms of ensuring that all players as individuals, or in terms of responsible gaming policies. Portuguese law and regulations are very tolerant of this matter and Estoril Sol Digital scrupulously complies with the law and regulations and goes further in adopting the best international practices regarding safe and responsible gaming.

iGaming Brazil – Estoril Sol is a company that last year was named one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Portugal’ in the ‘Less than 100 employees’ and ‘General Ranking’ categories, occupying the 6th and 14th places respectively. To what do you owe this award that is not the first?

Rui Magalhães – It’s a fact. Last year, we had the honor of once again being part of the best companies to work for in Portugal, to which we also received the leadership award, which I am very proud of. I believe it was the third consecutive year that Estoril Sol Digital was awarded this recognition. We have been distinguished, over the years, with other various international awards, in the most varied areas. From Marketing to Customer Support Service through the Legal and Compliance area. These awards reflect the industry’s recognition of the culture, performance, innovation and excellence that Estoril Sol Digital imprints on its operation.

iGaming Brazil – What projects do you have for this year 2022, and the next five years? In the short term, fairs, events, launches?

Rui Magalhães – We have just launched the poker offer and, with the entry into this segment, ESCOnline is the first operator in Portugal to operate three segments: Casino, Sports Betting and Poker. In the long term, we continue to work on projects that allow for a regulated market that is more open to offers such as Live-Dealing, Virtuals, eSports, among other content, in addition to evaluating markets where the brand wants to be present when possible.

iGaming Brazil -How do you see the Brazilian gambler in parallel with the Portuguese? Is there a difference in behavior in terms of betting volume, or any other relevant data?

Rui Magalhães – There are no studies or data that allow comparing the types of players in Brazil with other markets. Although we do not have this micro view, there are data that give us some macroeconomic indications and we can say that the sports betting segment is the one that marks the preference of Brazilians and Portuguese. In the Casino segment, the Portuguese have a greater affinity than the Brazilians. The Poker segment also finds an equivalent preference.

iGaming Brazil – Brazil is about to pass the law that allows the construction of casinos and online gambling in the country. What do you think about the fact that Brazil still doesn’t have a law about it and more, that gambling is banned here? Do you believe that we will be benefited in what way?

Rui Magalhães – I have been following the issue for more than five years and I understand that Brazil had and still has all the conditions to regulate. However, there have always been interests that, concomitantly with some ideologies, have managed to consecutively postpone legislation and regulation.

At the end of 2018, Law 13756 was passed in Brazil, which approved Fixed Odds Bets as a lottery modality. However, after more than three years, Brazil has not managed to create a regulation for the application of this law. At this moment, with the approval, in the Chamber of Deputies of PL 442, a very confused scenario was created regarding the coexistence of both laws.

Details aside, because this would be a whole other interview, Brazil, like any other country, must understand three dimensions when looking at the legislation and regulation of the gaming market: (1) the primacy of player protection; (2) the dynamism of an industry that generates economy around entertainment and; (3) the collection of taxes from this activity.