Games Magazine Brazil - What is your assessment of Genius Sports' performance and growth in 2023 overall? Was it as expected or did it exceed your expectations?
Guilherme Buso - Genius Sports concluded 2023 with another spectacular year. The company delivered excellent financial results in the first three quarters of the fiscal year 2023, maintaining its commitment to all stakeholders. It continues to grow in various business areas, maintaining strategic partnerships with major sports organizations worldwide and developing products, services, and technology, such as Second Spectrum, contributing to the business development of its partners. Globally, Genius Sports expanded its partnership agreements with major entities such as the NFL, Premier League, and FIBA, while also securing deals with new companies inside and outside the sports industry that trust our creative and technological solutions.
What is your assessment of Genius Sports' performance and growth in the Brazilian market in 2023?
Our LatAm team had a strong presence in Brazil this year, participating in major events in the country and proactively combating result manipulation by creating Abradie (Brazilian Association for the Defense of Sports Integrity). This association brings together sports entities, betting houses, legislators, and relevant authorities to raise awareness among key stakeholders and use technology to combat corruption in sports-related betting. Today, Genius Sports has the most comprehensive real-time data range for major football competitions worldwide, including Serie A and B of Brasileirão, Paulistão, Copa do Nordeste, and other regional tournaments. This allows us to provide a highly effective monitoring service and expand our partnerships even further within Brazil.
Could you list the main achievements or goals reached?
2023 was an extremely successful year for Genius Sports, marked notably by the launch of one of the most impactful products in the market in recent times: Bet Vision. Bet Vision redefines the live betting experience with integrated odds, real-time statistics, and augmented graphics overlaid on the video stream. We initiated this experience with the NFL and will continue refining this product in 2024.
In your industry, what themes or technological advances do you think will dominate the market in 2024? What will be the future trends?
Fan experience through customization remains a significant strategic focus in this market. Genius Sports has been expanding global agreements with major leagues worldwide in Free-To-Play solutions and utilizing Second Spectrum technology, allowing precise tracking of on-field elements (athletes, ball, referee, etc.) combined with game broadcasts featuring augmented reality graphics. This year, we launched the Bet Vision product in the NFL, and this is just the beginning of developing a solution that adds value not only to betting house users but also to the entire sports ecosystem.
What is your overall opinion on the regulation of the sports betting and online gaming market in Brazil?
It is undoubtedly a historic moment for the industry, consumers, sports, and Brazil, generating revenue and providing the necessary conditions to monitor, supervise, and take appropriate measures against result manipulation and corruption related to betting. The transparency we have always sought. We are confident that there is still much to be done, but the most significant step has been taken, and the Brazilian market enters 2024 experiencing its best moment, more mature, stronger, and now regulated.
What are the main goals/objectives of Genius Sports for 2024 in the Brazilian market? And on a global level?
2024 will be a year in which Brazil continues to be one of the most important countries for Genius Sports. We will continue working to increase our partnerships in the country, exploring our key products (Pre-Match, In-Play, Streaming, MultiBet, and GTS), providing betting houses with greater control over their operations, along with our media solutions (programmatic, Free-to-Play, and creatives).
We have important sports relationships in Brazil, such as NBB, CBV, Liga Nacional de Futsal, and local federations, as well as partnerships in Latin America and worldwide, providing exclusive and highly relevant content for Brazil. Today, we have the broadest range of in-play football data globally, and we believe this also positions us importantly to contribute to the integrity of this rapidly expanding and evolving market, especially now with regulation in Brazil.
Source: Exclusive GMB
