GMB - With the lottery market becoming increasingly regulated and professionalized, there seems to be a lack of opportunities for intermediaries to act more. Why does this happen?
Márcio Malta - I believe there is still a bit of misunderstanding about the partnership that can be established between the technology intermediaries provide for integration with lottery outlets. The number of retail points in Brazil, for example, has been stagnant for 5 years. We've had 13,800 retail points while in the United States there are over 20 thousand.
Loterias Caixa should be a partner for us in this expansion of the number of retail points. Consumers need convenience when making purchases. At the SBC, there were over 4,000 attendees, mostly exhibitors and people connected to the betting segment. We need to understand that sports betting is growing a lot due to a lack of activity and action from the lottery segment for this growth. Authorities need to somehow position themselves to grow and create some kind of competitiveness against betting.
How do you do that? There needs to be an update of channels, so fintechs, as well as digital banks, can be lottery resellers. Convenience stores too. In practice, intermediaries are providers of technology that can do this, and lottery outlets as well. This way, everyone will benefit. We want everything to be done in a regulated manner with the Ministry of Finance and Loterias Caixa so that the path is one of partnership and not competition. That everyone grows together because there is a great demand for this market. And that this is done strategically.
Does the lottery network fear competition because it doesn't have a history of fintech or technology? Yes, it fears competition eventually due to lack of information. In our view, this should not exist, but collaboration. The extension of the lottery point of sale should be a partner of the agent, not an adversary. When I say there are 13,800 lottery points of sale, maybe that's enough for the national territory, but not enough lottery points of sale. The lottery agent can benefit from additional points of sale, earning additional commissions when we enable them through faster technologies. Perhaps lottery terminals will no longer be necessary. The lottery agent must understand that we are here to be a partner, not a competitor.
Can lottery agents work independently but use the technology developed by you?
Exactly. That is the way for them to regain momentum in this market, not to mention the betting sector, where there is still much to explore and grow. There are many retail points to be explored. I insist, consumers need convenience. We need to cover a larger geographical area, as is the case in all markets. We want federations, lottery syndicates supporting us, Loterias Caixa, the state lotteries themselves, for this to happen in the best possible way. Thus, channels, whether digital or physical, will all be possible partners.
How do you see the growth of the state lottery market and how could lottery agents operate in this segment?
I think it's very positive and an evolution of market maturity. I believe there will need to be more flexibility and agility for this to happen. Today, the lottery network needs to be more agile to integrate with these movements and for this to happen quickly. The market is still forming, there is a lot happening at the same time: concessions of licenses on a federal scale, tenders on a state scale, regulation and ordinances coming, that is why we propose that the lottery agent seeks us out to understand that we offer the opportunity to quickly and quickly resolve their fears and problems.
Source: Exclusive GMB
