Brazil online betting regulation imminent
Brazil bill, Chile regulation woes, Argentina tackles illegal gambling, Colombian positives, Betsson’s Boca deal +More
Good morning. In this week’s LosIngresos+Más:
The Brazilian government will publish a bill regulating online betting by end-June.
Chilean gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries.
ALEA and CASCBA agree to work together against illegal gambling in Argentina.
Most Colombian online gamblers are aged 20-27; gambling tax collections grow 24%.
"Sports betting is growing very fast in Brazil and we need to regulate it," says Pay4Fun CEO.
Betsson becomes main shirt sponsor of Boca Juniors.
Aposta Ganha appoints Hugo Baungartner vice-president of global markets.
Brazil hopes
Brazilian government to publish online betting regulations imminently.
Taxing problem: The Brazilian government is set to define the expected Provisional Measure that will regulate online betting in the country and will be published in the Official Gazette before the end of June.
The rule is expected to stipulate that the state will retain 16% of operators' revenues, which would represent earnings of between $400m and $600m at the current exchange rate.
In Brazil there are about 3,000 online sports betting sites, all hosted abroad, with an estimated combined turnover of $2bn a year that do not report a single dollar to the state.
The office: In addition to the tax measures, the regulation will provide for the establishment of a secretariat that will manage electronic betting, be responsible for the collection of the activity and report to the Ministry of Finance. It will also incorporate fraud control and prevention mechanisms, such as the identification of the gambler.
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Unregulated Chile
The Chilean gambling industry generates $150m a year but continues to grow unregulated.
Bright spark: In a few years the online gambling industry could become one of the most important in Chile. Today, it is estimated that online betting generates $150m-$170m a year, which has sparked the interest of many international companies in the sector.
Some already sponsor teams from the first division of professional football, the sport on which most online betting is concentrated.
However, 100% of the many companies involved in the Chilean online gambling market operate illegally and are based outside Chilean territory. This means they do not pay taxes and the state has no way to protect players from possible scams and fraudulent maneuvers should they occur.
Suspicious minds: Considering the strong momentum that the betting industry is having all over the world and that, in Chile, it operates without regulation or taxes and consumers are not properly protected is, according to most analysts, odd at best and suspicious at worst.
The Chilean government has been preparing the rules for the regulation of the sector for over a year now, and that delay has provoked an angry complaint from several players in that market, including the operators themselves.
Argentina moves
The Lottery Association and the Chamber of Casinos of Argentina agree to work together against illegal gambling.
Two become one: On June 14, the Association of State Lotteries of Argentina (ALEA) and the Argentine Chamber of Casinos, Bingo and Annexes (CASCBA) signed an agreement to actively tackle illegal online gambling in the country, which is increasing.
The two authorities (which bring together 24 regulatory bodies and dozens of legal firms) will work together to ensure “the provision of legal, transparent, responsible and safe gambling to society,” they said in a joint statement.
Omar Galdurralde and Ricardo Benedicto signed the agreement for ALEA and CASCBA, respectively, at the Association Meeting Center in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. At that meeting, both reaffirmed the commitment of their representatives to “safeguarding the integrity of state management in the exploitation of games of chance”, an essential source of resources for social purposes.
Colombia online
Most online players in Colombia are between 20 and 27 years old.
Young at heart: The highest concentration of customers of digital betting portals is between the ages of 20 and 27, which is a positive factor for both the industry and the development of Colombia, according to a study of the online gaming platform available through Zamba.co.
This finding could be explained by three factors:
The first and most important would be the highly secure environment. The regulation and supervision of Coljuegos and the support of important payment methods such as TPaga, Efecty and PayU make for a safe experience.
Secondly, the broad range of services that can be found online and the variety of games that are offered.
And, finally, the ease of access and use of the interfaces in the virtual space.
Social bets: According to Coljuegos, in the second half of 2022, the online casino and gaming sector paid a figure close to COP2bn ($480k) in taxes alone. This money finances social projects implemented by Colombian state entities such as the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies and the Ministry of Health.
“The return of a normality, adapted to the new health patterns, opened the opportunity to deepen that commitment to the market, adjusting to the social impact with the value that we want to consolidate for the country,” said Enrique Amorocho, general manager of Zamba.
He announced that this year the number of bets is expected to double compared to 2022.
Zamba.co said that, so far this year, more than 10,000 players have placed bets on local football matches and it estimates that by the end of the football championship in the first half of the year “80% [of customers] will participate in the bets”.
Collections from the gambling sector in Colombia registered a growth of 24% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
This figure amounts to COP207bn ($49.5m), of which COP77bn ($18.4m) is from online-operated games, COP12bn ($2.9m) from Baloto, COP33bn ($7.9m) from Super Astro and COP86bn ($20.5m) from local games.
Pay4Fun expansion
Pay4Fun will begin operations in Mexico, Chile and Peru in January 2024.
Full steam ahead: After delaying its expansion into other markets to ensure it strengthens its platform and positioning in Brazil, Pay4Fun will begin operations in Mexico, Chile and Peru by January 2024 at the latest, revealed the company CEO and co-founder Leonardo Baptista.
Brazil is preparing a regulatory framework that, it is hoped, will allow the formal and legal take-off of gambling and betting, turning the country into one of the largest and most important markets in the world for the gaming industry.
Pay4Fun executives are betting that the aforementioned regulation will be approved before the end of 2023. In the opinion of its CEO, sports betting is growing very fast and it is urgent and necessary to regulate it.
“Locally, we now have four different providers of Pix, a payment method (electronic and instant) that now handles 90% of the Brazilian market.”
“So we changed our strategy and decided to wait until the end of the year, when Play4Fun will have its own Pix, which we are integrating directly with the Central Bank of Brazil. And, once this happens, we will launch into new markets early next year.”
“We will start with Mexico, Chile and Peru, where we want to be operational by January 2024,” explained Baptista.
Pay4Fun is the only Brazilian payment company operating in the gaming industry and is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Brazil.
“I think that in 2024 we could have the approval of Law 442, the Casino Law, and all the other verticals, and I think that in the union of these two markets (physical and online) lies the future of Brazil as a great power in the sector,” he concluded.
Betsson’s Boca sponsorship
Swedish bookie becomes new shirt sponsor of Argentina football club Boca Juniors.
Brand new: Betsson has reached an agreement to sponsor one of Argentina's most popular first division football teams: Atlético Boca Juniors. The Swedish bookmaker has paid $7.5m to put its brand on the ‘Xeneize’ shirt until December 2024.
The club's new shirt with the Betsson logo on the chest was premiered on June 25 at the tribute game to Juan Román Riquelme.
Firing blanks: Boca has been nearly a year without a name on the front of its shirt after Qatar Airways failed to renew its contract in July 2022.
The agreement with Qatar was signed in 2018 for a total of $28m spread over seven seasons.
The back of the shirt bears the DirecTV brand, for which it paid $2.5m.
In Argentina, Betsson also sponsors Racing Club, in 2021 it was among the sponsors of the Copa America and is currently naming sponsor of the Peruvian Liga Uno, the Chilean Campeonato de Ascenso and the Pernambucano state tournament in Brazil.
With the arrival of Betsson, there are now seven clubs that have sponsors from the gaming industry. In addition to Boca and Racing with Betsson, River Plate has an agreement with Codere, bplay sponsors Velez Sarsfield and Estudiantes de La Plata and City Center sponsors the two most important teams in Rosario, Newell ́s Old Boys and Rosario Central.
Finally, BetWarrior is the official sponsor of the Argentine national team, with a contract until 2026 that also includes the Copa Argentina and the National Tournament.
Betsson has three licenses to operate in Argentina in partnership with Casino de Victoria as a local operator; in the province of Buenos Aires, the city of Buenos Aires and Córdoba.
The Swedish-listed firm opened its operations in the capital of Argentina on January 6, 2022.
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Career paths
Hugo Baungartner joins Aposta Ganha as vice-president of global markets.
Hugo Baungartner has been appointed vice-president for global markets at Aposta Ganha, Brazil's fastest-growing sports-betting and casino site and will lead the company's international expansion.
Baungartner has extensive experience in sports betting and gaming, which will help to accelerate the company's strategy as it seeks to become a major global player.
The next territory to which Aposta Ganha will expand its operations will be revealed in early July.
“I am delighted to join Aposta Ganha’s dynamic team as vice-president of global markets,” he said.
“With our sights set on international expansion, especially in the vibrant Latin American market, I am excited to contribute my experience and my drive to the success of the company.”
“Together, we will navigate new territories and consolidate Aposta Ganha’s position as the leading sport- betting operator in Brazil and beyond.”
Aposta Ganha offers sports betting, casino and esports in the Brazilian market on a platform developed “by Brazilians, for Brazilians”.
The company is the main sponsor of Figueirense, Corinthians and Flamengo football clubs.
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