At the age of 37, salesman Flávio de Souza Sena spends, on average, four hours a day watching and studying the performance of athletes who play in different national and international football tournaments. So much dedication goes beyond mere fascination for the sport. The Palmeiras fan aims to be recognized as a skilled fantasy game player – an online competition in which participants compete against each other, through the formation of virtual teams, composed of choices made based on statistical and historical performance data of real athletes.
The effort has paid off. Working for three years with this type of game, he has already won approximately R$ 90 thousand (US$17k) in prizes. “A lot of people say it's luck, but I don't believe it. In my opinion, there is a whole study and a lot of strategy behind it,” he opines.
Sena is right. Due to lack of knowledge, many people tend to associate this type of modality with games of chance, which are basically based on luck, as with bingo, casino or lottery, when gamblers depend on chance and actually cheer against an operator. The reality is that the fantasy game demands knowledge of the sports universe, as well as skill, technique and strategic planning, which also occurs with other types of games in the skill category, such as eSports or chess.
This industry has been increasingly consolidated on the international scene and has already shown an exponential economic impact, moving around US$22 billion in the last year and could grow to US$ 100 billion between 2020 and 2026. In the United States, for example, is estimated to have moved something around US$8.37 billion last year. India appears in second place in the ranking, reaching the mark of about US$319 million, according to the website Statista.
According to experts, Brazil has potential and already occupies the third place in this list – being able to move up to 250 thousand jobs directly and indirectly. Currently, the sector moves in the country from R$55 to R$66 million (US$12.5m) per year. The global growth estimate for the segment until 2026 is 120%.
The big obstacle is that, ein the countryre, the fantasy game is not yet regulated. The legislation closest to the subject is totally out of date: it is Law No. 5,768, of 1971, which deals with lotteries and sweepstakes.
To change this reality, a normative proposal prepared by the Ministry of Economy is being processed by the Civil House, which aims to regulate the activity of skill games, in which Fantasy Sport is directly included. At the same time, companies that work with games of skill have been acting to defend the need for balance and legal certainty for operations, through a different tax and regulatory treatment from that considered to give to games of chance.
“This will allow for greater profitability, with the generation of jobs and expansion of state revenue to the country, as well as providing greater security to users and fans of skill games. More than that: it is important to show what the fantasy game really means and its operation, which today ends up being ruled alongside other categories that operate in a totally different way,” explains Rafael Marcondes, Head of Legal at Rei do Pitaco.
Also according to Marcondes, the regulation opens the market for greater competition, with the possibility of entry of other players, if clear and well-defined rules are published. “There are three pillars that will benefit from adequate regulation: safety for consumers (users), for market players (with the possibility of expanding the Brazilian industry) and for investors (development and growth of the sector)”, he reinforces.
Rei do Pitaco is a leading fantasy game platform with over 1.5 million registered users, where they compete for prizes at the end of each round. Operating in the market since 2019, the brand recorded a growth of 600% last year and is expected to exceed 400% in 2022. Those interested in playing in the tournaments pay only the registration fee, which part serves as an administration fee (by competition management) and the rest is returned to players in the form of prizes.
The Sao Paulo club fan Guilherme Luiz de Oliveira Souza lives in Suzano, in the interior of the state, is 25 years old, is a trader, fantasy games analyst and every week he plays – as a defender– in real life. “I met the King of Pitaco through lives, on YouTube, and I've been playing for a year. What motivates me to practice is the profession, because I want it to be part of my life. I study it every day. When the round ends, I already look at the statistics, the best moments of the games and then I go to the other analyses,” he explains.
Currently, Souza plays in all national championships, as well as the Alemao and Champions League, in addition to national team disputes, which has already led to a collection of R$32,000 (US$ 6,000) in a single round. In all, in the application, the player has an income of R$ 97,000 (US$ 18,400) so far. “To do well, you have to invest in knowledge, whether through courses or practice. Fantasy Game is a game of skill in the long run, because – to always win – you need a method and this method can lead me to live on that alone. Who knows, maybe one day?”, highlights São Paulo.
The biggest league organized by Rei do Pitaco took place in 2021, when it awarded the winner of the first round of the Brasileirao with R$ 500,000 (US$ 95,000) and distributed R$ 1 million (US$ 190,000) in prizes in total. In the first round of the 2022 Paulista Championship, Souza regretted not having won a hefty sum. “It was very close, for a penalty I would have been first,” recalls the Fantasy player.
It is possible to play in a series of competitions, such as the Spanish League, English League, Italian Championship, Champions League, Copa do Brasil, Cariocao, Campeonato Paulista, among others. In the assembly of the respective teams, the players can select athletes that work in different clubs. The better footballers perform in the real world, the more expensive it is to sign them.
Scores more for users who hit a greater number of variables according to the performance of the selected players, such as goals scored, fouls suffered, corners taken and many other metrics typical of football matches.
“Abroad, there are several countries that already have specific regulations for this type of game, which ends up attracting investments and providing greater peace of mind for those who play and operate. We believe that, having its own rules, this modality has everything to take off, since Brazilians love football,” points out the Head of Legal of Rei do Pitaco.
Source: Metrópoles
