GMB – What is your assessment of SBC Latinoamérica and the presence of so many Brazilians in Miami?
Fellipe Fraga – This fair is very special, firstly because Miami is the capital of Latin America. I often say that we don't speak English here, we only speak Spanish. It's important because a lot of key industry people and high-level executives come to this show, participate in discussions, and we have a better chance to sit down and discuss issues focused on Latin America, unlike the shows in Europe, which are obviously very positive, but with a different dynamic.
SBC manages to build here, focused on the Latin American market - and this becomes very important - business development at these fairs, which advances in a different and very positive way. I really like it. It's more relaxed, and for many people, it's the last fair of the year. For those focused solely on Latin America, they end the year here instead of going to the Malta trade show, and it's a great opportunity to take advantage of. The first day has been wonderful, with many meetings, a full agenda, but always very interesting.
What does it mean for EstrelaBet to be here and how are the deals carried out at previous fairs and now running?
Here we were able to take advantage of and improve what we have already seen building at other fairs. We have made progress on some of these ideas and agreements, which has been very productive. With this, we can offer new experiences to our end customer, so that entertainment and sports betting are carried out in a complete, fun and responsible way.
This year, due to our different strategies, we chose not to have a booth. We prefer to follow the dynamic of visiting partners' stands, and it has worked the same way for us. It's been wonderful. We sit down, we talk, we find new opportunities and what's cool about these fairs is that the industry is so connected, everyone gets to know each other, introduces themselves, and we create a healthy and interesting ecosystem of good people.
Speaking of a healthy and interesting ecosystem, we have EstrelaBet with its new website, is everything working well? What has the end user response been like?
It's been very good. We did recent research to understand our user, as we care a lot about the customer having a good experience and having fun with EstrelaBet. The feedback, especially from sports betting, has been very positive. The numbers have responded well. In online gaming, with the new features that are coming, people have really liked it and responded well, all within expectations. The user experience as a whole, from entering the site to entertainment and the banking part of depositing and withdrawing funds, has also been positive.
By the end of the year, our partners should deliver more things, and for 2024, even more new things that we are preparing and working on. Travel is essential for this, bringing more and more different entertainment, things that may not even be available in Brazil. We are working on this so that our customers can have fun with EstrelaBet.
What are the plans for 2024?
There are many, and many of them we cannot even announce yet, but our expansion project is very clear, and it continues. We have had a very important addition to our team, which will be announced soon, a person of great relevance in the industry who is joining us and will contribute to this process of expanding new activities. 2024 holds a year of consolidation for us. We are working on expanding the brand, expanding the experience, even more consolidation.
It seems that finally, with the market regulated in Brazil, we will be able to talk to our Brazilian customers in a safe and appropriate way. The regulation has this objective, to guarantee a robust structure not only for operators and providers, but also for the end customer.
We hope that this regulation is healthy and that Brazil starts 2024 with this regulation working. EstrelaBet will certainly be part of this process.
With all the features you pointed out, is it clear that EstrelaBet will apply for a license?
It has always been in our plans, since EstrelaBet decided to start operations in Brazil, offering games to the Brazilian market in Portuguese, it was always with the vision of obtaining this license. We expected it to be issued in 2019, but it has become a struggle in recent years, and I am very confident that we will now move forward, and Estrela will certainly be part of this revolution in the regulated market in Brazil with the license.
I am sure that Brazil will be the largest regulated market in the world, whose potential is immense. It will be a relevant highlight also from the point of view of financial relevance and in a few years the world will see that the great revolution and advancement for gaming and entertainment will be in Brazil.
Source: GMB Exclusive
