StoneTurn, a company with presence on five continents, specializes in providing due diligence and compliance services for various industrial segments. With the imminent regulation of sports betting, the company is dedicating special attention to the sector, according to Ian Cook, director of StoneTurn in an exclusive conversation with GMB.
GMB – What can StoneTurn offer and how is it analyzing the Brazilian sports betting market?
Ian Cook – In the Brazilian market, as in all major centers, we see an increasing need for the bookmaker to understand who the bettor is. So, the interesting work that we do is to help the house understand this through in-depth due diligence. That gambler that eventually has a volume that draws attention to the house's monitoring algorithms and appears as a red flag, or that the identity has not been correctly proven or that in the course of that relationship some other type of situation arises and that the house needs understand more about who that customer is, we can do this help work. It is a job very similar to the one that the financial market performs. Which is to understand the origin of those funds and if the bettor's income can be proven by the documentation that the house received. So the work has this objective, to provide greater security, because houses have many obligations with regulators outside Brazil.
They are usually highly demanded not only in relation to responsible gaming, but especially compliance and following the rules of the regulator. Is that what you help them to succeed in front of their own people?
Exactly. Regulators have these requirements for houses to have adequate financial crime prevention and responsible gaming controls. So the house, having the proper monitoring, it is very common that atypical situations arise that need to be investigated. Houses often have internal teams that can do this investigation, but we have a team that can do this work, even if the house is abroad, with local knowledge, access to numerous databases and public records, including on-site visits.
The Brazilian market is not yet regulated, but regulation is on the way. Is this work an additional tool to give certainty to regulatory bodies in Brazil that the sports betting industry has this concern with compliance?
Undoubtedly. As with other regulated segments – and we even make a parallel with the financial market -, proof is needed. And if there is any question that the regulator needs to understand what the homework was done and why that gambler who had an atypical behavior was allowed to continue as a customer of that house or, on the contrary, decided to terminate the relationship, it is important that there is all this control and procedures. Many houses have it, but external support is very important and the demand is growing more and more.
Do you expect a quick regulation of the Brazilian sports betting market?
We hope so. It is what the market needs and what we have verified. There are many parallels with what happens abroad.
Source: Exclusive GMB
