Paulo Saad, President of Grupo Bandeirantes, moderated the panel and opened the debate presenting data on the growth of investments in advertising by betting houses in recent years, which should amount to R$13 billion (US$ 2.7b) in 2023. However, he made an important reservation regarding the usefulness of these advertisements.
“It is a significant volume for the Brazilian market; it's not the biggest, but surely it should be in the top three. In this regard, there are two points that are important to highlight: of this volume of money, no part was used to show public opinion the benefits, problems and education that the entire segment needs to show the Brazilian people. The market is not realizing that there is a movement of public opinion by people and institutions against the legalization or regulation of sports betting and all gaming verticals in general. This is something that is like a sword over our head, which can seriously harm the segment, reduce investments, remove the operation from several houses,” stated Saad.
“Non-regulation leaves the field open for bad entrepreneurs or adventurous ones to the detriment of the great entrepreneurs that we have. I think it's a mistake, a shortsightedness of the segment, not highlighting part of their investment in institutional and educational communication and teaching people the validity of recreational games and their importance for the segment.”
Then, Carlos Cardama, CEO of Games Magazine Brasil and co-founder of BiS, pointed out that the lack of regulation of the entire market hinders the growth of investments and prevents advertisements from having even better quality.
“Everything goes through regulation. We've been fighting for a long time to get it approved. The government, one way or another, is not managing to implement a regulation. The given regulation will make the market stronger through much more capital that comes to invest in our country. And that will bring great prosperity with, jobs and all that makes for a large market available to the population,” Cardama commented.
“We, businessmen of the sector and particularly I can speak through my media, see the difficulty that companies have to be able to come here because there is no regulation. They say we can't put money in a gray market. Sadly, we are going through this moment. But we are people who learn a lot from all the difficulties. However, regulation would contribute a lot to this wonderful market.”
Diego Fernández, Director of AdTech at Pipolhub, highlighted the importance of correctly place advertising through different media. “Today the operator is paying a very high acquisition price for its players in Brazil. This, basically, can be maintained in a moment of growth as we are seeing at the fair; however, it is not sustainable for a long time. Regulation can bring about a more open media with fewer players operating, making the business more sustainable for everyone,” Fernández said.
“A very important theme in all of this is how do we find an organization for this whole industry. There is great exposure in the local market, not only on television with traditional advertisements, but as sponsors of football teams and any sporting event, as brands have done. These brands allocate hundreds of millions in an almost zero disclosure model. We do a great job of following up with brands and vehicles to bring a successful organization that will allow them to have a business in the future,” Fernández also explained.
Guilherme Frioli, Head of Advertising and Business at UOL, highlighted the strength of advertising in the educational part of the player so that the market gains real visibility among the public. “If there isn't a section dedicated to culture and teaching, it's unlikely that we'll be able to have a healthier market. We need to get out of the immediacy a little bit. Today, brands are very focused on the question of performance, wanting it now and that doesn't work overnight, even more so in a country that doesn't have the culture of the betting market. We need to work on the brand and use all our inventory, the power that we have in our hands as content producers, because that is what will give visibility, it will guarantee the relevance of brands within these inventories.”
Finally, Ricardo Magri, Director of the Brazilian Company to Support Compulsivity – EBAC, stated that advertising also helps the market to self-regulate. “A market that is not regulated regulates itself. We talked about it here in panels, I think this is positive because the market shows a little the seriousness of some people in the face of the scenario. That company that finally came, it was worried from the beginning, it was reluctant to come because the market was not regulated. It came, it had a very good result, it doesn't do anything wrong, but on its own initiative.”
Source: GMB
