GMB - What assessment do you make of your presence in SAGSE 2018?
Horacio Salas Novikov - The event left us with a very good impression, the quantity, and quality of the audience was impressive, the opportunities offered to represent a great potential for all the participants and the format allowed each one to know the current product and demand of the Latin American market. We hope that this type of initiatives will allow the creation of new bonds and projects and that the fruits of these new working relationships will be an incentive to continue and develop such events.
Online betting is the segment that grew the most at the trade show since the last edition .. what do you think this is due to?
In first place, the quality of the technology offered. The possibility of reaching more people, along with the opportunity to make the game process more comfortable, allows us to perceive a larger audience, while also reforming the consumption model of our service thanks to the advantages offered online. At the same time, we can observe an evolutionary process of the relationships of trust that are forged between the users of the betting platforms, where the gamblers take into account the reputation of the house, and the operator does everything possible to maintain a high the gaming experience and its reputation. At the same time influences the attempt, for now timid, of the legislative bodies to regulate the sector, so that there are guarantees among all participants within national economies. And, most importantly, the economic growth of Latin America allows more and more users to have access to the Internet, payment methods and money for leisure.
Just one quarter for the end of a year that had a World Cup, how was this year for 1xBet? How was the level of betting during Russia 2018?
This year has truly been a year of new conquests. The World Cup multiplied the number of bets in relation to a standard period because each year the technology reaches more people and there is an expected increase in demand to online services. And what is even more interesting: football has not yet reached the top of its popularity. In Russia football is not as popular as in Europe or Latin America, but every year it increases the audience. With the World Cup, hundreds of thousands of spectators could not only see the game closely but also feel the passion and color that accompanies it, which obviously influences the interest and intention of making bets. Similar processes can be observed in countries that show economic growth. An exemplary case is China, where the public begins to pay attention to unusual things, but they are assimilated into the process of general globalization.
Did Latin America, as a market, grow as 1xBet expected? Which countries lead the region?
The Latin American market is for us, literally, a new world. We are already making our first steps in the region, but we still have a lot to discover, study, know and, above all, implement. Our expectations are great, sport has always been a topic of interest among the continent's public, as well as what it associates with it. The economic and technological development also open opportunities for us, since access to the Internet from affordable devices such as smartphones brings us one step closer to people who have demand for our product. In addition, the large number of local operators that have emerged and developed in the region is impressive, as well as the results demonstrated by our competition in Europe that has also decided to venture into LatAm.
1xBet had experienced a great growth in Brazil. How do you analyze and consider that market today?
Brazil, being the largest economy in the region and one of the largest in the world, is of special interest to us. Even with the current legislation, which prevents the normal development of Internet betting houses in the country, we think that the possibility of satisfying the existing demand is very interesting, since we are talking about not only a country with a large economy but also of a country that has a great passion for football, making it a very attractive place for us.
Are you in favor of the regulation of the sports betting market in the country?
We are in favor of any step that brings us closer to transparency in the relations between operators and users. Many times, for different reasons, the absence of regulation or a poor implementation of this affects the interests of users, operators and, finally, those of the national economy. We think that it is extremely important to have a good name, that reputation strengthens the trust that allows us to maintain a good working relationship with our clients and partners, but it is much better when guarantee mechanisms are available since there is legislation clear and intuitive. The presence of regulation allows us to maintain a good image and generates greater trust between our customers and partners, which is finally good for us.
Next December, Clarion will organize for the first time in Brazil a sports betting congress in the Pacaembú stadium in São Paulo. Do you consider important such initiative for the growth of the activity? Would you be interested in participating?
We think that any initiative that involves dialogue is of great interest. Today, we are witnessing the technological and economic development that Brazil and the entire continent are going through, and for this development top ay off it is essential to have legislation in accordance with such situation. The same goes for the ability to assimilate these innovations, which depends directly on the possibility of maintaining contact with representatives of the sector, as well as on the awareness of the usefulness of these contacts. For us, it is a priority to be aware of what happens in our area, and if the initiative takes place in a country like Brazil, for us it is even more interesting to see closely the events and the decision making that can take place.
Source: Exclusive GMB
