At the head of the largest affiliate company in the betting market in Brazil, Alessandro Valente is also one of those responsible for the Brazilian iGaming Summit, an event that, this year, brought together more than 14,000 people in São Paulo.
The sports betting market in Brazil generates more than 100 billion reais per year, which corresponds to around 1% of the country’s GDP. For a huge portion of the population, they stopped being new a long time ago, which is largely due to the ties established with one of the country’s greatest passions, football.
Sponsorships and expansion of sports betting in Brazil
A survey carried out by GloboEsporte at the beginning of this year found that websites of this type are master sponsors of 39 of the 60 teams that are part of series A, B and C. In the Brasileirão, sponsorships reach 450 million reais.
“The growth potential of the sports betting sector in Brazil is gigantic. How many people place bets in the country? Only 14% of the population is over 18 years of age”, said Alessandro Valente, co-founder of Super Afiliados, in an interview with Exame.
Valente highlighted that the sector should be seen as a competitor to cinema, theater and other areas of entertainment.
“We need to demystify this segment, whose reason for being is to entertain bettors. Yes, it is possible to earn money when playing. But it is not something immoral or a fixed source of income, as some people mistakenly proclaim on social media.”
Super Afiliados
Founded in 2007, Super Afiliados is the largest affiliation company in the betting market in Brazil. It uses performance marketing to attract new bettors online.
“Globally, this type of strategy accounts for more than 30% of all new players,” explained Valente, born in São Paulo.
When using a betting site, they usually promise friends or family something like, if they win, they will pay everyone’s bill at a bar or restaurant. “I usually place a bet against the team I’m rooting for. This way, I will have reasons to celebrate, whatever the result of the game,” he revealed.
Current market and the future of sports betting in Brazil
Nowadays, around 450 betting sites operate in the country. Betting was authorized in Brazil by a law sanctioned in 2018, during the Presidency of Michel Temer (MDB). However, the regulation only came at the end of last year, and the measures will come into force on January 1, 2025.
That’s why, until now, all companies in the segment known to Brazilians are formally based in other countries — nothing that the internet and international transactions can’t solve.
Worldwide, according to Grand View Research, the online betting sector had a turnover of 63 billion reais in 2022. It is a figure, maintains the same consultancy, that will reach 153 billion dollars in 2030. In England, the firepower of segment is even more evident than in Brazil.
There, the second most important football tournament is named after one of these sites, Sky Bet, from the United Kingdom itself. According to the University of London, advertisements from platforms of this type are usually seen between 70% and 90% of the broadcast time of BBC’s Match of the Day, the most relevant football program in the country.
The role of the Brazilian iGaming Summit
In 2021, Valente was one of the creators of the Brazilian iGaming Summit (BiS) to promote the sector in the country. The fourth edition was held this year at the Transamérica Expo Center, in São Paulo, with around 250 exhibitors and thousands of visitors.
Thus, the expectation is to reach 18,000 in the fifth edition, scheduled for the 8th, 9th and 10th of April 2025. “We created opportunities for different players in this segment to dialogue, including with members of the government”, summarized Valente.
Defense of casinos
Finally, the co-founder of Super Afiliados also defended the legalization of casinos in the country, something being debated in Congress.
“We need to reverse a taboo that is almost 80 years old,” said Valente, referring to former president Eurico Gaspar Dutra’s decision to ban gaming in 1946.
“Casinos are not just about betting. They help boost tourism and involve a number of other attractions, such as gastronomy and musical shows”, he concluded.
