H2 has established itself in recent years as one of the main players in the online and face-to-face poker segment. Formerly known as H2 Club, the company has become one of the most important business groups in the poker area, with physical and online operations, in addition to being part of a conglomerate also made up of Suprema Poker and the organization of the Brazilian Series of Poker, the biggest championship sport in the world after the WSOP, which takes place annually in Las Vegas.
To talk about the transformation of the company into a group with various activities related to poker and other games, GMB One-On-One spoke with Ueltom Lima Gomes, CEO of the company. In addition to dealing with the growth of H2, Ueltom says that the group has just launched other types of card games, such as ‘caxeta’, one of the most popular in Brazil, the brief launch of a fantasy games platform and the entry into the world of sports betting, with H2.Bet.
GMB – Grupo H2 has established itself over the last ten years as a major player in the Brazilian poker market. What accounts for such prominence in this rapidly growing scenario?
Ueltom Lima Gomes – By calling H2 a Group you already refer a little to our history, as H2 has always been well known as H2 Poker or H2 Club. It was where everything was born and being a reference in Brazil and one of the main ones in the world represents a great trajectory. Our history as a business group is intertwined with the history of poker in the country. Unlike other places in the world, we had to prove that poker is not about gambling. Brazil had a very specific legislation and, in our point of view, very backward. In other countries, this did not happen, as it was considered a game of skill and strategy. There has always been this confusion, as many people, when playing in other countries, are in a casino environment. There's a chip, there's a table, there's a deck of cards... And everyone confused the game as a casino activity. As in Brazil you cannot have games of chance, we needed to prove that poker did not fall under this prohibited legislation. We had to seek a lot of legal and technical support to show that poker is a game of skill and that the luck factor was not preponderant. This fight is over a decade old. This construction and legitimation with society was victorious. Today no one questions it and everyone plays and it is the second hobby of many people, such as artists, Olympic champions and football players.
This community was greatly strengthened by the work we did. It was a struggle to play the sport we wanted most. Soon after, we realized that there was an opportunity for business and not just practicing the sport. Because of this history, we became a great reference for the country. More than launching a new business, we were founding a new market. There are people who were fundamental for this and for me, Igor Federal, my partner, is also my mentor and a super important guy in this story. As well as André Akkari, a great friend and world poker champion, who is a business genius. For all these reasons, we have consolidated a market and thus I summarize the reasons for making the H2 a reference.
And as you rightly said, a sport of the mind. Obviously having the organization of the Brazilian Series of Poker among H2's operations is a huge responsibility, as it has become the biggest poker championship in the Southern Hemisphere. How do you evaluate the growth of the Brazilian championship?
The BSOP is now the largest poker tournament in the world by number of people outside of Las Vegas, which is the mecca for major tournaments. Today, the BSOP is in contention for first place outside of the WSOP. We are one of the biggest championships in the world in awards and we are not the first only because of the Brazilian currency. But the BSOP is a great reference and we welcome the best players in the world and from countless countries. One of the main factors for success is the very size of the market in Brazil, since there are no other championships of this size. BSOP got a lot right with the leadership of DC and Lara [Devanir Campos and Lara Bruno), in addition to Igor Federal, of course, who are responsible for the success of the Brazilian Series of Poker. They are very successful in their decision to have the best championship in the world from a technical point of view. The dealers, tournament directors, floors and the technical structure of the BSOP make us recognized as the best in the world, even by the main players. It's almost a unanimous decision. When playing elsewhere, you don't see the same technical level as in the Brazilian championship in terms of organization. This was a great success for BSOP, which made it very important on the world stage.
By the way, poker has been growing exponentially. Was this boom in Brazil due to the understanding that it is a sport and the dissemination of the WSOP?
There is an interesting factor in the history of poker. We call it the “MoneyMaker Factor”. He was a recreational poker player who won his seat at the world championship from a satellite tournament. At the world championships, entry to the main tournament costs US$10,000, so it's not cheap, but it's possible to win a seat through satellites. And that's what happened to him, through a very cheap qualifier and he played in the tournament, becoming world champion. At that moment, the euphoria was generated in the world poker community that an amateur player is also capable of winning a world title.
When you think about the long term, the best players will always be the victors. There is a phrase in the poker world that says: “you are not paid to always win, but you are paid to make the best decisions”. So in the long run you will be a profitable player. But what is the great beauty of poker? If you play just one hand against the best player in the world, you have a chance to win, but if you play a hundred times, you will lose. This allows amateur players to sit at the tables of the best players in the world! There is the privilege of being able to sit down at the table once and win. This made poker grow a lot and started to be broadcast on ESPN in several countries around the world. This made the modality grow even more.
There is a parenthesis here that is always worth mentioning. It is a source of pride in Brazil that the cards used in both the Brazilian championship and the WSOP are from Copag, the century-old Brazilian deck manufacturer!
Copag is a giant. We have a solid and historic relationship. They have always been supporters of our projects. It was very important in our trajectory. It is a Brazilian giant in the playing cards sector. They have numerous lines and have always supported our project.
How is the integration between online and face-to-face poker? Is there a competition or do they complement each other?
They complete. We were a little afraid and it was a doubt. When the pandemic came, we had no option. For many years the group saw it as a tool or a means for other online operators who were always partners and sponsored us. We operated physical units in clubs and in the Brazilian championship, but when the pandemic hit, we were unable to operate for a year. A lot of people depended on the physical poker operation and we had no options but to grow the online platform and making it a big business was a matter of survival. It ended up becoming the biggest business and the main vertical we have in our business. But we thought: “will this boom subside at the end of the pandemic?” We realized that it wasn't and that those who only played live sporadically, started to play digitally as well and didn't fail to return to the physical with the end of restrictions. They continued to play online even with the return of face-to-face activities. During the pandemic, there was a growth in the public looking for things to do, including recreational games and poker. And they started to attend the physical units. We arrived at the phygital, which is the physical and the digital. We received visits from players from all over the world and they know the size of our operation and what we do. And they are surprised when they visit the H2 and see the hall full. They understand that online is important for H2, they realize the strength that digital has achieved.
H2 is preparing for other card games. What's new in that sense?
Through the network we are part of, we have Suprema Poker. It's an own app that online clubs can connect to. This greatly enhances the volume of people playing at the same time. It is now the main online poker platform in South America and one of the largest in the world. And with the growth, we started to discuss other games and the first one we just launched is ‘caxeta’, very widespread in Brazil. We want to bring this audience into our digital world. By tradition in Brazil, I even believe that it is greater than the number of poker players. Another modality that we are about to launch is the fantasy game. We have developed our own game and will soon launch it, as well as talk about our betting platform.
Speaking of news, we were going to get into that. H2 entered the world of sports betting with H2.Bet. What is the proposal of the new house?
We've spent over a decade basically operating poker. It was a decision we made in the past to operate only as permitted by Brazilian law. We always look at other games and are interested in operating, but we depend on the Brazilian government to make the decision. We are late and Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that does not have specific regulations for casino and bingo games. It is a detriment to the country that prevents serious businessmen from entering this market. We are in this expectation and that Brazil advances in this direction. Four years ago, the country legalized sports betting and for a long time we waited for regulation to enter the business. It took us a while to move in this segment, but recently we made the decision to participate. Following the market and seeing that many world-class companies were investing in this sector, we launched H2.Bet. It is a phenomenon what is happening in this market. Brazilians are very passionate about games and sports and it is no different for us. We are very satisfied and excited about the future of this business.
Are you offering the main sports?
All possible modalities and the main markets. As much as we are an international company, it bears a name that over the years we have fought hard to be respected. When people look at the H2 name, they see that respect and credibility. For us, it has always been important to delimit this. We operate with the best markets and we are very concerned about the unbridled growth of operators that we often don't even hear about. We are talking about entertainment and it takes a lot of responsibility when talking about investment. It is a new modality and we are working with great respect for the market.
The government should not waste time and create specific rules within the Brazilian market to give more and more credibility and security to those who want to operate in the country, without having to act abroad.
What are H2's plans for 2023?
H2 is experiencing exponential growth and we know that there is a very large window of opportunity, especially in the betting and new games market. I think our main strategy is to cross-sell the games and make the community that already recognizes H2 as an entertainment environment, that they come to try ‘caxeta’ with us, to the fantasy game and those who are interested in sports betting, may they be with us.
Our corporate mantra is “Grow”. Within the leadership we have a joke when answering when they ask us how we are doing. Our answer is “we are growing”. This growth is based on cross-selling and the support of what we already have with new games. We bet a lot on this and we are keeping an eye on the regulation of betting and the legalization of games.
We participate in all discussions in this regard because we are very interested in contributing to the development of the entertainment segment. We have to move forward and the time has passed when the State said who you can marry, how you can spend your money and much more. Gaming exists in the country and is just not legalized. This is the most important point that the government should understand. Many serious businessmen are waiting for the State to legalize and regulate the modalities to operate safely. It's not about whether gaming exists or whether anyone likes it or doesn't like it. Everyone can have that right, but it's up to the government to offer clear rules, collect and invest in important areas. It's about the government putting a hand in this business even to protect gamblers.
Source: Exclusive GMB
