Rei do Pitaco is a Brazilian daily fantasy with a 60-fold growth since it was founded in 2019 and with a goal of quintupling in size by the end of 2022. The application has already reached the mark of 1.6 million downloads and distribution of more than R$ 35 million (US$ 6.9m) in prizes. “Last year alone, there were more than 22 thousand leagues offered and today we cover the main championships in the world,” says Mateus Dantas, CEO of Rei do Pitaco.
Below are the best excerpts from the interview:
GMB - What led you and Kiko Augusto to launch Rei do Pitaco in 2019?
Mateus Dantas – We usually say that what led us to create the Rei do Pitaco is because we were trained in computing and because we share a love for football. I have family members who played professionally, so I was born in this environment, just like Kiko. We met in 2015 and we always talked about football and entrepreneurship. We had several ideas until in 2019 we decided to create Rei do Pitaco, as we saw a gap in the Brazilian market to fill the daily fantasy game area. There was no single company that prevailed in this sector. That's when we identified the opportunity, in line with what we've always wanted to do, which was something connected to football linked to our prior knowledge of technology. We put it all together and launched Rei do Pitaco.
How did the Rei do Pitaco achieve such success in the market in such a short time? Is there a lack of entertainment and betting alternatives like the solution offered by you?
There is a shortage, but not because of the existence of products, but those of good quality. Both Kiko and I always believed that it would be useless to create another fantasy or sports entertainment product. We wanted to listen to our potential client and based on what we understood he wanted, create a product on top of that. So we listened a lot and translated that feedback into a quality product. As we always focus on quality, naturally people liked our product and started referring more customers. That's how we grew as a company. Rei do Pitaco was able to efficiently find other good people who believe in this mission and leverage our product. So, I would say it was a combination of both a good product and the people we attracted to the project, which allowed us to grow at such an accelerated rate in recent times.
What is the number of downloads currently and how much has already been distributed in prizes? How many championships are already available on the platform?
Today, in terms of downloads, which represent registered customers, we are at 1.6 million and we have surpassed the mark of R$ 35 million (US$ 6.9m) in prizes. We have over a thousand leagues per month. Last year alone, considering all the leagues offered, there were more than 22,000. Today, we cover the main championships in the world, such as the Premier League, La Liga, Champions and Libertadores, as well as national ones, especially the Brasileirão Series A and B, Copa do Brasil and Copa do Nordeste. All the championships that our audience wants are incorporated into Rei do Pitaco. In addition to the championships, we have several leagues on our platform, from free to very affordable ones, in the range of R$1, R$10, etc. Today Rei do Pitaco is a very complete platform for the fantasy game fan. In addition to covering a range of different championships, there are several ways to play on our platform, in addition to the prize pools, which are the biggest on the market.
Complete and complex, isn't it, since you have to score users from athletes from the most different leagues. How to address the issue of scoring and work this information in a sustainable way to give the client the certainty that he was scored fairly?
What we do is to be as transparent as possible with our client. The scoring format, which is our scoring system, is predefined. When entering Rei do Pitaco it is possible to see in a very simple and easy way in the regulation how the score works. We have a listing for each action the player takes on the field and the score he will receive. There's all the technology behind it, which is to translate the player's actions and what he does on the pitch in the shortest real time possible. We have a transparency portal where people can access and see all the teams that were assembled and compare this with the end of the play. Although it is something complex, we always try to simplify as much as possible so that our client can understand as quickly as possible what is happening and not only that, that he can reach all the information contained in the application on his own.
The growth was such that Rei do Pitaco made substantial investments of more than R$200 million (US$ 39m) to develop the platform. What does this investment represent for such a new startup and where will these resources be applied?
Rei do Pitaco has grown very fast in recent years. From 2019 to now, we have grown more or less 60 times in terms of size and in practically all numbers. As we managed to grow at an accelerated rate in this gigantic market and we built a very good and solid team, with knowledge of what they are doing, it was even natural to attract the interest of investors, not only from Brazil, but also from abroad. Throughout the trajectory and the expansion plan going forward, it was the result of the work of our qualified team, as everything that has been built so far has attracted all these investors.
And where are these investments being applied?
A good part of these investments are being applied to the expansion of our team. It is one of our pillars to have a very good team. So, investing in talent is one of the main sector where the Money goes. Expanding our technical, marketing, product and financial teams is one of the focuses. At the same time, we invest in product improvement. It is our key piece. We want to offer improvements, like a faster app, to more people and with more features, ways to play and more championships and leagues. We want to bring our customer the best experience possible. In addition, investment in customer acquisition. We have to reach out to people and show them why they should play for Rei do Pitaco.
Rei do Pitaco signed partnership contracts with the Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state championships, in addition to the Copa do Brasil. How do these partnerships work?
Some of these partnerships, as was the case with Paulistão and Copa do Brasil, we signed both sponsorship and being the official fantasy game. But it goes beyond that. We have to be partners in competitions. We work together, because what Rei do Pitaco helps the championship and it, as a result, brings us more customers. It's a two-way street and we really believe in this relationship of being the official fantasy game. In fact, it is a mutual partnership. Both championships had this characteristic. As for the Campeonato Carioca (Rio’s state tournament), it's more of a sponsorship in itself.
In addition to the partnerships, Rei do Pitaco has just debuted on HBO Max and TNT Sports as a sponsor of Paulistão broadcasts. How does this sponsorship help the visibility of the company?
They are also closely linked to our company strategy as a whole, which is to connect more and more with our customers. Wherever he is, we want to be there, connect with him and show him why he should play in Rei do Pitaco and what benefits he will have.
What are Rei do Pitaco's strategies for the coming months to achieve growth in downloads, user engagement and project dissemination in Brazil?
Our strategy has always been to grow aggressively, reach more customers and build an increasingly better product. And to reach this goal of continuing at this pace, we need to invest in the three pillars I mentioned, which are hiring talent, investing in product and acquiring customers. Those are the focuses during this year, which is to grow five times by the end of 2022.
How is Rei do Pitaco different from its competitors, that is, from other traditional fantasy games on the market?
When we talk about fantasy games, it is important to separate them into two categories. There are the full-season fantasy games, consecrated in the United States as season long. In this modality, a team is assembled at each round and at the end of the championship, you will have the final score. This is a format that already exists in Brazil. Rei do Pitaco fits into the daily fantasy game, DFS, which works a little differently. Instead of assembling a team per round and accumulating points until the end of the championship, in our product a team is assembled for a round and at the end of it the fantasy game champion is already defined. We fit into this modality and we are leaders in Brazil and we were pioneers in the sector. In addition to focusing on this model itself, around fantasy we have a lot of cash prizes. As I said, we have already awarded more than R$ 35 million, so we focused on this model. Our prizes are the biggest on the market.
In Brazil, the regulation of gambling is under discussion. There is talk that fantasy games and fantasy sports could be under the wings of the same legislation. What assessment do you make of this possibility?
When it comes to that, we try to clarify that Rei do Pitaco is not a game of chance, but a game of skill, since the result mostly depends on the client choosing a good player, knowing the confrontations and knowing how to choose different formations. By having this factor where strategy and knowledge play a leading role, we are very clear that Rei do Pitaco, like other fantasy games on the market, is a game of skill. These are games that are accepted and widely practiced throughout the country. When we go to the game of chance, where winnings depend exclusively or mostly on luck, it's another discussion. In any case, we are favorable and we believe that it will come to differentiate one activity from another.
And do you expect the legalization of gaming to happen quickly?
We are in favor of regulation, but when it will happen is very difficult to say.
Source: Exclusive GMB
