Reflecting on this, I said to myself, almost like a mantra: as soon as we transform, we are not obliged to remain in our current state. It is not necessary for us to transform into furniture, which never changes. If the furniture remained in its original form, that is, a living tree, it would continue to grow and produce. But when your wood becomes a chair or table, it stops developing and gradually ages and deteriorates. That's why we need to reform, and the pandemic pushed us to do that.
So, I prefer to talk about the challenges won over 2020. Although we have not shared pleasant moments in the different fairs where we always meet friends and exchange ideas about the sector, we had the opportunity to learn, with the new normal, to relate even more over the internet, the world wide web that brought us closer than ever this year. GMB is proof of that, accompanying the sector every day in moments of so much isolation, fulfilling its journalistic work.
These challenges that we live and are still living helped to boost online gambling, with sports betting already operating strongly in Brazil and offering, in their services, also casino games. Furthermore, we have seen the huge growth in the support of these companies for Brazilian sport. Today, 14 teams from Serie A of the Brazilian Championship have internationally renowned brands printed on their jerseys. In addition, they embraced other sports and have stood out on the national scene. And I am proud to say that GMB followed this movement.
All of this gives us the certainty of the seriousness of our industry and makes us work hard to praise every professional who works in the sector and especially those who have supported Games Magazine Brasil so much.
Even in spite of so many difficulties, our sponsors were with us from the first moment and they were joined by many others during this pandemic unprecedented in the recent history of our world. For this reason, I dedicate especially to these more than 35 companies, which support us so much, my deepest thanks for being with us and helping us to build, through communication, a strong and active industry. This faithfulness at such a difficult time has our deepest respect.
We also dedicate our recognition to them for what they did during the pandemic, for their social actions, support those most in need, donations and awareness campaigns so that their employees take care of their health, working from home as a way to face this difficult moment. This demonstrated once again that the gaming industry is not as cold as those who do not know it often say. The industry has shown that it is not unaware of everything that happens with society and that it is in solidarity with what happens with its teams.
Just over two months ago, we completed 25 years of great history and quality information. The migration from the printed format of our Games Magazine to the news portal we affectionately called GMB in 2016 was very important for the even more comprehensive internationalization of our vocation to offer quality information for our sector. The extensive journalistic coverage that we make available to the gaming industry has already become a tool for the development of the business of those who seek the Brazilian market, in the process of having the regulation of the sector.
Many new features will come at the beginning of 2021 to make our news portal even more comprehensive and enjoyable, as we continue to evolve and seek to constantly improve the way we approach our partners with their customers.
Brazil, a sleeping giant in the gaming world, is waking up and I am sure that in 2021 we will have the long-awaited regulation of the sector, which will give dignity to an economic activity left out in our country, but which is capable of generating billions of dollars in foreign exchange and over one million direct and indirect jobs.
For all of this, I leave here my thanks to everyone who was with us this year and the hope that 2021 will be a glorious year for our sector.
Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year to all our friends, sponsors, and readers. We will be here for you and, and we will continue to be the tool and source of information for this vibrant industry.
Carlos Cardama
GMB CEO
