‘Colombia is experiencing an impressive growth trajectory,’ says Fast Track MD
Colombian strength, Dom Rep iGaming, Peru’s tax grab, big guns eye Brazilian market +Más
Strong and stable regulatory framework key to Colombia’s success.
In +Más: Brazil’s regulatory timeline, Argentina safeguarding proposals.
Dominican Republic publishes regulatory regime for online gambling.
Peru: Law change proposal requires international companies to pay taxes.
DraftKings and MGM Resorts look to enter Brazilian market.
The best, the best, the best of you.
Colombian growth
On solid ground: Fast Track’s managing director of Americas, Jean-Luc Ferriere, told Gaming Intelligence the solid growth of the gaming market in Colombia is largely due to the predictability and sustainability provided by a strong and stable regulatory framework – a key element to foster operators‘ and players’ confidence and, at the same time, drive industry growth and innovation.
He added that the increasing automation and personalization of games through AI tools allowed operators to dedicate more resources to designing creative strategies to attract customers and improve productivity, essential in a highly competitive market such as Colombia.
Made to measure: The Fast Track platform ”allows our partners to tailor interactions, rewards and content to individual player preferences and behaviors,” Ferriere said, which helps “make each player feel unique,” something that is achieved through the use of real-time data and advanced AI algorithms and is measured in terms of player retention and satisfaction.
He added that the company’s long-term commitment is to the digitalization of the iGaming industry “and offering the first engagement and self-learning platform.”
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+Más
Brazil: The authorities have outlined a four-stage process that it hopes will see the regulations for online sports betting and iCasino implemented by the end of July this year. The notice from the Ministry of Finance said the regulatory policy of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) “provides legal certainty and ensures predictability and efficiency to the regulatory process, thus solidifying the foundations for a stable and reliable betting environment in Brazil.”
Among the measures the SPA will outline the ordinances for payments firms, which will be published later this month.
Ordinances on AML and other financial rules will come in May as well as the definitions of which iCasino games will be made available including live casino.
More rules on how the games will be overseen and monitored including what the authorities expect in terms of RG measures will come in June and July.
See you in court: A dispute over the territorial scope of state lotteries is brewing in Brazil after the Rio lottery (Loterj) decided not to respond to a request from the Ministry of Finance to change the accreditation notice for bets. The clash could go to the Supreme Federal Court.
Coljuegos has trained ~40 influencers on raffle and promotional regulations to improve safeguarding, with a view to increasing the number of draws from one annually to four monthly. “We have seen that many raffles and promotions are conducted improperly on social media,” said the regulator’s president Marco Emilio Hincapié. Further training sessions are scheduled for April 11 and 18.
Betano has acquired the naming rights for the Brasileirão (Brazilian Football Championship), which starts this Saturday. The contract runs until 2026 and is estimated to be worth $14m per year. Although the exact amount was undisclosed, sources from the Braziilan Football Confederation (CBF) indicated the new deal was the largest in the league’s history.
Argentina: The province of Buenos Aires has presented legislative initiatives to prevent minors from accessing virtual bets. These include campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the risks associated with online gambling among teenagers.
Meanwhile, the opposition in the Córdoba legislature is pushing for reform of player registration to limit access to minors, as well as for the Córdoba Lottery to manage the registry rather than the operating companies.
Kambi repurchased 40k ordinary B shares between April 1 and 5 as part of its share repurchase program, bringing the total acquired to 127k. Under the program, the group is authorized to buy a maximum of 3,127,830 such shares, up to a value of €4m ($4.3m).
Dom Rep iGaming
Golden rules: The Directorate of Casinos and Games of Chance (DCJA) and the Ministry of Finance of the Dominican Republic has published Resolution 136-2024, regulating the ‘Authorization to operate gambling over the internet’ in the country.
The document establishes security conditions, requirements and administrative fees that operators must comply with to obtain a gambling license and regulates the conditions of such operations.
The text clearly differentiates internet-operated games in which determining the outcome or development of the game requires a random number generator – such as slots, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, bingo and poker – and includes prize plans and means of payment.
Operators will need to pay around $345k for a casino license, $257k to offer sports betting and $173k for other games.
Watching brief: The DCJA will be in charge of monitoring, surveillance and control of online gambling activities, and operators must enable a remote connection to their systems to facilitate inspections.
Peru sports-betting law
Death and taxes: The minister of Economy and Finance, José Arista, has announced the government is seeking to incorporate changes to the sports betting and online gambling law (Law 31557) to compel international companies operating in the country to pay taxes.
Arista explained that these changes are necessary because they represent “a matter of fairness”. In Peru, physical games pay taxes that remote ones do not.
The regulation of Law 31557, published last October, requires online sports betting companies to pay 12% of net profit to the state, a rule that does not apply to international businesses.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism estimated the amendment to the law would enable the government to collect around PEN162m (~$44m) annually, which would be invested in tourism reactivation, tourism infrastructure works, promoting sports and addressing mental health programs.
Brazilian market
Let me entertain you: Sports-betting heavyweights such as DraftKings and MGM Resorts are considering entering Brazil’s new regulated online gambling market as Latin America’s largest economy becomes one of the world’s fastest-growing gambling frontiers, Bloomberg has reported.
Brazil is one of the top 10 betting markets in the world, with GGR rivaling that of Spain and the Netherlands.
Over 130 companies have expressed interest in obtaining a Brazilian license, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance. The list also includes Hard Rock International, the casino operator owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Hard Rock did not respond to I+M’s request for comment.
MGM confirmed its interest in Brazil in February, when CEO Bill Hornbuckle said during an earnings call that the casino operator planned to explore a joint venture in the country.
Small fry: While some of the sector’s major brands have set their sights on Brazil, smaller companies are gearing up for the strong consolidation of a sector that, according to São Paulo-based analysis firm Datahub, currently comprises over 1,000 different gambling operators.
The new law requires companies to pay up to $5.9m for a license that may need to be renewed every five years and also establishes a 12% tax on GGR – prices that may be too high even for well-managed small operators.
“Many serious businesses will not be able to afford this license,” claimed Darwin Henrique, CEO of Esportes da Sorte, an online gambling company currently operating in Brazil.
Hang ten: Gaming has experienced equally rapid growth. In 2022, Brazil ranked 10th worldwide, with $1.5bn in GGR, after not being among the top 15 the previous year, according to Entain, one of the largest online sports-betting companies in the UK.
Total GGR in the regulated online market is expected to reach nearly $5bn in its fifth year of operation, according to forecasts by sector research company Vixio GamblingCompliance.
The popularity of online betting has already attracted multinational firms such as bet365, Entain’s Sportingbet and teh Flutter-owned Betfair.
But the lack of regulation has prevented many foreign companies from formally entering the market.
“It is one of the largest markets in the world, and as it is regulated and becomes a formal market, it allows companies to enter and better explore the system,” says Wesley Cardia, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries of Brazil.
“And when small and poorly regarded websites are removed from the market, consumers are added to the big ones.”
Calendar
April 11: GAT Expo Cartenega 2024
Publication schedule
This is the English version of the LosIngresos+Mas newsletter published yesterday (April 10).
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