GMB - We would like to know your opinion about the Brazilian iGaming Summit and how it is to face the players in the market for whom, theoretically, Secap is preparing a project to regulate sports betting.
Gustavo Guimarães - In general, the event was very good and fruitful, with an open debate. We receive a lot of feedback from the industry and it is part of the role of the regulator, formulator of public policies, to be close to society, companies and consumers. That's what we came here to do. Give some of our contribution and expectations for the future of this market, as well as listen. We had very important panels, including the legislature represented here.
An event like this, at the moment we are now, at the end of a pandemic process in which the economy needs to recover. It is a unique moment for us and Secap is very happy to be able to contribute to this recovery, making this sector more dynamic and trying to contribute to improving the regulatory framework in all the functions in which we work to develop the area of drawings, prizes and lotteries.
Did you add even more information to what you already have to continue with the sports betting regulation process?
Indeed, as I said, regulation is made for the market, so there is nothing better than discussing it with the market itself. We have already carried out three processes of public consultations and a thorough work of evaluating more than 2,600 pages of responses and proposals from the public consultation, and here it has been an opportunity to talk with stakeholders and discuss new possibilities, including in this scenario of resuming face-to-face meetings.
There is a new scenario, which is the discussion of the Regulatory Framework for Gaming. Could this turn Secap into a future regulator and enforcement agent for a broader gaming sector?
This is an important topic and would be the natural path. Secap is the embryo and body that deals with trade promotion, prognostics and federal lotteries. This could be the embryo of this new body, which we believe is necessary for a thriving market, which needs a regulator to match. So, I believe that Secap is the embryo for this new body to oversee, control and participate in the formulation of the gaming market in Brazil.
Could Secap become a regulatory agency?
The decision on the design of this new body depends a lot on what lies ahead. What we have is a new market, that of sports betting, much more complex from the regulator's point of view than traditional lotteries. It is a great challenge for Secap, with Lotex, which we hope to grant as soon as possible this important lottery modality, well known, as well as fixed odds betting. So, regardless of the discussion of a new framework, we have major challenges ahead for Secap and I understand that it is very important for this body to develop at the same rate as this market will develop.
That will be the future. I don't know if it's an agency or department, but an autonomous and independent institution, with a collegiate body, and that provides security not only for players and the market, but also for companies that will make the investments and bring jobs and income to our country.
During BiS, you were teased about the deadline saying that you'd rather have sports betting regulation arrive on January 1st than December 31st and you've already been promising regulation before the World Cup, which takes place in November next year. What can we expect from the deadline?
This is a question of more than R$1 million. The World Cup is a milestone and December 31, 2022 is the legal deadline for regulation. When I say the World Cup, I think about the exploitation of the business by companies. Brazil has evolved a lot in terms of bureaucracy for establishing companies. We will have a natural process for companies, both existing and international, to adapt to the standards required by this new regulation. So, when I talk about the World Cup, I consider the year of the World Cup and a feasible deadline for companies to enter the market to explore this product. It is in this sense that I use the World Cup to define the importance of establishing deadlines. We can't leave it until the last minute, for December 2022. So, for us, as soon as the information arrives and the rules are clear and decision makers on investing or not in this market have all of this in hand so that they can define their operations. I am sure that we will have a bright future in the field of sports betting in Brazil.
Source: Exclusive GMB
