GMB - What is your assessment of Pay4Fun's performance and growth in 2022? Was it what you expected or did it exceed expectations?
Leonardo Baptista - It certainly exceeded expectations! Initially, we had a big growth during the pandemic period due to covid-19, which continues until today. Due to the 2022 World Cup, which ended now in December, the number of customers and partners interested in the sports betting segment consequently also increased. We believe that the practice of online games is increasingly accessible, bringing new users to the market.
Could you list the main accomplishments or goals achieved?
We were the 1st payment institution in the betting sector to receive authorization from the Central Bank to operate in Brazil.
We launched the new Pay4Fun Card, a prepaid digital card for the unbanked, accepted worldwide.
We received the investment from AppleTon, an investment management company, which is now a shareholder in Pay4Fun.
We were included in the ranking of the “10 most inspiring CEOs of the year” by CIO Business Review.
We inaugurated the new headquarters in the city of São Paulo.
We were chosen as the “Best Payment Method” at the Brazilian iGaming Awards.
In your sector within the industry, what topics or technological advances do you think will dominate the market in 2023? What will be the future trends?
Without a doubt, something that we are going to see happen is cashless - a 100% cashless payment system - in several Latin American countries, such as Brazil, Peru and Mexico, for example.
With this new function, the idea is to integrate the electronic wallet or digital payment method directly into the betting terminals and slots so that the user can load and play through a QR Code, where the balance of their Pay4Fun wallet will be debited. And, the same happens on the way back, in case of a win. Just request the withdrawal to your digital wallet and the money will enter your account.
With this, we approach several points of concern: security (of the user and of the establishment), logistics (transport of values), governance (prevention of money laundering / tracking of money at each step of the process) and retention (user using the same balance in the retail and online).
Have you noticed that the Brazilian gaming market has evolved this year, or has it missed another opportunity? What do you see about the regulation in the country for 2023?
The sports betting and entertainment market is booming. The sports sector even has Brazil as one of its major markets. I believe that in 2022 we achieved great growth and for 2023, the trend is for this market to grow more and more and be more forceful, generating new job opportunities and resources for the country to invest internally in the sector.
Regarding the regulation, even if it is still in progress, I only see advantages for the segment and for the market if it is approved and we hope that this issue will be resolved as soon as possible, since in other countries the practice is already regulated.
What are Pay4Fun's main goals/objectives for 2023?
Our main goal for 2023 is the expansion of Pay4Fun to Latin America. We want to expand our products and services to other countries that are adept at sports betting practices. We want more and more to position ourselves as a complete payment institution to serve not only the betting and online gaming segment but also the entertainment sector in general. We always aim to invest in our internal team to receive new customers and partners, without losing the quality of the service we already offer.
Source: Exclusive GMB
