The Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro – Loterj has been regaining its prominent position in the lottery scene and, according to the president of Loterj, Otávio Cunha, “the lottery market has been managing, in Rio de Janeiro, to break monthly sales records.” Below, his concept during the interview with GMB:
GMB – What assessment do you make of the current state of state lotteries in Brazil?
Otávio Cunha – I continue to be one of the most optimistic about our segment. The lottery market has been managing, in Rio de Janeiro, to break monthly sales records. We expanded our distribution margin and worked with more than ten thousand points of sale in the state. Loterj can only celebrate. We went through great difficulties during the pandemic, because we work with physical products. But thank goodness things are looking up and we remain very excited about our online lottery bid. This will place Loterj in a more prominent position in relation to the market as a whole.
And how is this process for the online lottery?
We made a public call, open to the entire market, for them to speak, give opinions and ask questions. The participation of large companies was quite representative and we believe that we are in the final process of preparing the Public Notice and soon the market will have news.
Will they be instant and online prediction lotteries?
Exactly. They will be lotteries of predictions and instant online, in a new vertical of games not competing with the physical ones, but online and with a strong level of entertainment, where good practice and transparency of what will be done and proposed.
Have the market players accepted Loterj's proposals well as the first document presented for what do you intend?
In fact, we are customizing the bidding that was interrupted by the State Court of Auditors. We saw where there were mistakes and errors and we are trying to mitigate all of that. We called the industry to give an opinion on how they saw these changes in the new Notice and we have already considered the opinions and now we are finalizing the Notice.
So now is all about participate and put price and product?
I think so. Because of all the information and suggestions we received, everyone had the opportunity to talk about the process and that is why we are very optimistic. That way, things will go smoothly and smoothly.
Are the players ready to offer what Loterj needs?
Hope so.
What assessment do you make about the panels and lectures that took place at BiS on lotteries. Were they enlightening and how will the issue of lotteries in the Union, States and Municipalities look like?
It's a controversial topic. A common denominator has not yet been reached. There are some law firms that understand that the municipalities would not have the freedom to operate their lotteries. This is a discussion that will continue, but as a state lottery, we know that we can operate and we will not stand still. Loterj will propose the creation of a sports betting modality under our brand.
Were the discussions productive?
They were great. New points of view were raised and as I preached, the moment is for union and we must take advantage of the positive moment that is made around lotteries as a mirror of what the gaming sector as a whole can provide: social action, giving back to society in the form of social benefits and all that revenue that we provide exclusively for this purpose.
Is the Rio de Janeiro Lottery ready for sports betting?
We're getting ready for it. It's on our very short-term radar and we won't miss this opportunity.
And how to compete with regulated sports betting with Loterj's product imagining that other players will continue operating other verticals on their sites?
Any regulation that is being proposed by the Union or States for sports betting should make this very clear, because what we have in the market today can end up hindering the understanding of a transparent and clean game, in which there will only be sports betting being offered by lotteries states, it has to be that way, in my opinion. Being able to mitigate other gaming verticals within a sports betting operator’s brand is something that has to be made very clear to follow.
Source: Exclusive GMB
