GMB – Can you give us a summary of the moment Meridian is living as a company? In which markets it is operating, what are you working in and what is the biggest goal the company wants to achieve in the long run?
Néstor Contreras – Meridian is an international company that started in Serbia and today has operations in Europe, Africa, Central America and South America. The company's idea is to globalize sports betting, casino, virtual and skills games; that's the main goal. In the countries where we have a presence, we want to work with stores dedicated to sports betting and at the same time interact with the online system. We have a very strong platform that gives all the possibilities to our partners and our own version to be competitive in the market.
Have you been following the process of regulation of sports betting and the legalization of gaming in Brazil? In your opinion, what is the main consequence that the lack of this legislation brings to the country?
The betting regulation process in Brazil has been taking a long time since the law was passed. It would be very good, not only for the sports betting market, but for the Brazilian people and state. For the state, it would come through the payment of taxes from sports betting and online casinos, which would represent millions and millions of reais annually that are now not being collected because there is still no regulation.
Still talking about Brazil, what are Meridian's operating plans for the country considering a prompt regulation?
Meridian's expectation is to wait for regulation to happen, then get a license to operate legally, expand our presence in the country with sports betting shops; also be able to work online casino and sports betting, virtual games and all the offer we have as a company in the online sector.
Expanding our conversation globally, what are the company's plans for 2022, its growth forecasts and the biggest issue to overcome?
Well, the theme of growth has been the same for all companies that have been heavily affected by COVID and all the problems that are linked to it. Internationally with the coronavirus pandemic, in-store gambling is the last business that can reopen when everything is closed. If COVID's growth is controlled and markets remain open as they are now, 2022 could be a very positive year for us. But if we have another setback of the pandemic, it will once again be harmful for everyone, not just us.
Source: Exclusive GMB
