“When we look at the current panorama of South America, it is obvious to me that Brazil should be one of the objectives of any brand that wants to conquer Latin America. The country is a space of opportunities, its population is large and diverse. Gaming is integrated into their culture, they have very good per capita, great internet penetration and good mobile networks,” said Monica Rangel, Head of PT Markets of 888 at the beginning of the session “New Markets - Digital”.
“I think it has all the possible indicators for people looking to invest in Brazil and in the region. It is an educated audience with good purchasing power and a good network for our services to reach them. What else could we want in a market? I think it has the perfect combination of qualities. We just have to know the rules to enter the right way and not burn ourselves in the attempt. Otherwise, it's the perfect setting,” added Rangel.
Zeno Ossko, CEO of Betwarrior, commented on the potential of Latin America, specifically the challenges that Argentina faces, although he highlighted that Brazil's neighbor is a fantastic territory to operate: "Here, people are crazy about sports and, therefore, that's always good for sports betting. Internet penetration is also very high in Argentina. At the beginning of this year, we launched two regulated casino platforms in the City of Buenos Aires and so far the acceptance and reception of the products has been excellent; so we are happy with the results we are seeing.”
However, Ossko highlighted that in Latin America there are challenges, such as emerging markets and payment systems: “These things are a challenge because they do not have the same quality as in other more developed markets, they are not as reliable. They are also expensive from an operator's point of view and the experience is not the best for the consumer. But they are things that we all know that as markets regulate and grow, they will change and we will have the same quality of payments that we see in other markets. In Argentina, this issue is also a challenge,” highlighted Ossko.
Panelist Stavros Karagkounis, CEO and co-founder of Fogobet, explained that people in Brazil are not as familiar with payment methods such as credit cards as Europe is. “People rely more on classic methods like bank slip. This part of the industry will increase in the near future and we will see many other payment options. The instant ticket, platforms like Pay4Fun and many others will provide faster and more secure systems,” he said.
In addition, Karagkounis commented that although it is impossible to foresee what will happen in the future, at the moment it is difficult for payment methods such as credit cards to penetrate the Brazilian industry. “The first thing we did when we thought about what we could do in Brazil was to start with the payment methods. Because if you don't have the appropriate payment systems for the Brazilian market, you won't have a future there. Therefore, right now we are very happy that our platform offers different payment solutions to our customers. This is key to having a very good connection with customers at the beginning,” he explained.
Roberto Regianini, CEO of FBM Digital Systems, assured that to be successful in Latin American markets it is necessary to understand the public and offer specific products for each country. “At FBM we strive to create personalized markets. You have to understand the market in order to offer what you need,” he said.
“The lack of regulation and credibility in these types of issues are great challenges for everyone. We try to understand the markets, we strive to understand each one. For example, video bingo is a pioneer in Brazil, so we were able to create unique games 20 years ago because we understood that it was a necessity,” explained Reggianini.
Following Regianini's line of thought, Rangel said that these types of problems are “very Latin” and that each country has its own unique method, it is not a phenomenon that only occurs in Brazil: “There are so many payment methods linked to the land-based culture. It is not something that started now or two years ago, they started 20 years ago in physical betting and continued to develop.”
“There should be an education around credibility. People have to trust them first to use them later. If people don't trust them, they won't put their money in their systems. And believe me when I say that there is no one who is more suspicious about the destination of their money than a Latino; I think we can all agree on that," added Rangel.
Regarding the challenges posed by language and the differences among cultures, Karagkounis explained that even in the same country it is impossible to reach all people, but that focusing and targeting a region with a large population, such as São Paulo, is a good start. “You need time and patience. As for the Spanish-speaking countries, it is totally different, since there are differences with the culture or the language, they have different expressions, although people can understand each other,” he said.
The moderator Cecilia Paolino-Uboldi, Director of International Business Development of Carnival Corporation, added that each country has words that are exclusive to themselves, and that to understand them it is necessary to be part of the local culture: “In LatAm we use completely different words than those of Spain, but we all know theirs and they know ours. But if I am a bettor and you are trying to get my attention, it is very important that you speak my language and know that you are using expressions that I do not like. If not, [there is a possibility that] people will reject them."
CasinoBeats Summit 2021 took place last July 14-15 in an innovative live and digital integrated format. A select audience of senior executives attended the InterContinental in St Julian’s, Malta, in person, while a global audience of industry professionals participated in the event online. The conference agenda focused on the next generation of slots and products, key established and emerging markets around the world, leadership in gaming, and marketing and affiliation. The program also included the opening ceremony of the Game Developer Awards.
Source: CasinoBeats / SBCNoticias
