With an established career in iGaming, Luiz Gustavo Zonca played a fundamental role at Sportradar from 2012 to 2023. Now, he returns to the group to take on a new role as Executive Vice President (EVP) Brazil.
In an exclusive interview with the iGaming Brazil portal, the executive reveals the reasons for his return, Sportradar’s plans for Brazil and details of the partnerships and actions aimed at preserving the integrity of the country’s most popular sport: football.
“Although there is still much to be done, we have already seen significant progress. This progress reflects the efforts of the CBF, clubs, state federations and sports betting operators, who have been implementing measures to prevent and combat match-fixing”, he highlights.
During his first tenure, Zonca was a prominent leader within the Latin America team, where he contributed to shaping Sportradar‘s operations and driving success across the region.
In his new role, he will be responsible for leading operations in Brazil, bringing his vast experience, strategic vision and in-depth knowledge of the market.
“Brazil is experiencing a historic moment with the regulation of sports betting, a milestone that is redefining the future of the industry. I am excited about the challenges that 2025 will bring, a decisive year that will require adaptation, innovation and commitment from everyone involved in the sector”, he states.
Complete interview with Luiz Gustavo Zonca, EVP Brazil at Sportradar:
iGaming Brazil: What motivated Sportradar to open an office in Brazil? And what does this change for customers?
Luiz Gustavo Zonca: Brazil is a key market for Sportradar. In December, we announced the opening of an office in São Paulo, Brazil, an important milestone in our strategic expansion into the country and Latin America.
This move reinforces Sportradar’s ongoing commitment to Brazil and reflects the country’s capacity for dynamic growth, which has the potential to become one of the largest regulated sports betting markets in the world, with gross online gaming revenue (GGR) projected to more than double in the next five years.
The opening of the São Paulo office allows Sportradar to strengthen its local presence, foster deeper customer relationships and better support the development of the Brazilian regulated market.
iGaming Brazil: Are you happy to be back? Could you detail your role and responsibilities in this new phase?
Luiz Gustavo Zonca: It is an honor to return to Sportradar, assuming leadership of the company in Brazil. During my first management, I stayed at Sportradar for 11 years, serving as Managing Director in Latin America.
In this new role, Executive Vice President Brazil, I intend to accelerate the development and strengthening of Sportradar and the igaming sector in Brazil. I will seek to expand and deepen my knowledge to strategically contribute to the excellent team we have assembled for operations in the country.
One of our most important goals is to implement our iGaming Strategy locally. We have a great product, which is already performing excellently in Asia, which indicates that, with the right approach, it can be massive in Brazil.
Brazil is experiencing a historic moment with the regulation of sports betting, a milestone that is redefining the future of the industry. I am excited about the challenges that 2025 will bring, a decisive year that will require adaptation, innovation and commitment from everyone involved in the sector.
iGaming Brazil: What are the plans for Brazil after regulation?
Luiz Gustavo Zonca: Brazil is a dynamic market and will become even bigger after regulation. We have already established a solid business foundation in the country and see immense opportunity for growth, driven by its large population and widespread popularity of sports, in particular football, an area in which we stand out globally.
Furthermore, our commitment to preserving the integrity of Brazilian sports underscores Sportradar’s broader mission to promote a responsible and sustainable industry operating in a regulated environment.
We have big plans for the operation in Brazil. The addition of iGaming services is ‘a new arrow in Sportradar’s bow’. More than 80% of our customers offer sports betting and iGaming through their licenses.
Building intelligence using all of our tools and entering the iGaming space is a natural progression for us. We are modeling with many large companies to do this and we are also developing some of these solutions ourselves.
iGaming Brazil: Recently, Sportradar revealed that Brazil is no longer the world leader in the ranking of countries with the most suspicious games, showing a drop of almost 50% in suspicious games. How does Sportradar see this progress in the “country of football” and what factors contributed to such a promising result?
Luiz Gustavo Zonca: The more the issue of match-fixing gains visibility and is discussed, the greater our ability to raise awareness among clubs, federations and betting companies about the importance of integrity in sport.
Although there is still much to be done, we have already seen significant progress. This progress reflects the efforts of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), clubs, state federations and sports betting operators, who have been implementing measures to prevent and combat match manipulation.
Although we cannot say with certainty that the drop in cases is the result of these initiatives alone, they are, without a doubt, an important step in combating match-fixing and have contributed to this positive trend.
In Brazil, the application of regulations is expected to create a more structured and transparent environment, which should significantly increase sporting integrity.
The partnership between Sportradar and the Ministry of Treasury, for example, represents a major step forward in combating match-fixing in Brazilian sport. This technical cooperation strengthens monitoring and prevention efforts by facilitating the exchange of crucial information to detect suspicious activity in the sports betting industry.
iGaming Brazil: Are there any other changes to the structure of Brazil besides your return?
Luiz Gustavo Zonca: Due to our business plan for Brazil and the opening of our office in São Paulo, we are working on a strategic adjustment of our team in the country. In addition to making new hires, Sportradar’s main executives took on new roles in the Brazilian operation.
Sergio Floris, one of the main participants in the configuration of the new Brazilian structure, now assumes the position of General Director of Brazil. Additionally, he will continue to lead all betting rights activities, including streaming partnerships and data/AV rights.
Santiago Mizraji now assumes the role of Vice President of Account Management for Brazil, following his excellent performance as ECP Brasil and the excellent results he achieved in previous years.
Fernando Mora joined the company as Business Development Executive to lead our iGaming division, a strategic business essential to the operation in Brazil.
We have assembled an excellent team and now, more than ever, we will come together to accelerate and reach our potential, building the next step for Sportradar’s growth in Brazil.
