With a first day full of content, networking and big players making their presence felt (full article here), the Brazilian iGaming Summit 2021 has already de facto established itself as the biggest betting event in Brazil. But it doesn’t stop there, the second day of BiS is full of relevant themes and big names in the sector.
With seminars focused on gaming regulation and safety, the second day of BiS began with very high quality content and discussions fundamental to the present and future of the betting, affiliate and lottery industries. The opening of the activities of this farm was on account of Silvia Faro, who welcomed those present.
Reinforcing that the event runs until the end of the afternoon of this Thursday, 2. Now, check out the main points raised by the participants in the first lectures of this second day of the Brazilian iGaming Summit 2021:
Thursday, December 2nd morning schedule
Panel – Regulation: The positive aspects of Regulation (Contracting, Economy, Tourism, etc.)
The first panel was moderated by Luis Felipe Maia (FYMSA Advogados), in addition to Newton Cardoso Jr. (Federal Deputy), Bacelar (Federal Deputy and President of the Tourism Commission), Magnho José (President of the Instituto Brasileiro Jogo Legal – IJL ) and Waldir Eustáquio Marques Jr (Subsecretary for Awards and Drawings of the National Public Policy, Planning, Energy and Lottery of the Ministry of Economy).
The opening of this second day of BiS 2021 brought one of the most important and expected news by the industry about the operating model of the Brazilian market, which will have 20% GGR (gross profit from the operation) and 20% income tax on profit for physical person.
“We were recently in contact with various regulatory bodies and institutions to accelerate the process of the regulatory framework”, revealed federal deputy Bacelar, who defended the release of all types of games. “The project, to be successful, must include any type of game. Even the animal game, which is an intangible heritage of Brazil, where we lost a lot due to the lack of inspection and tax collection”.
However, the deputy stressed that the national betting industry must also mobilize to streamline the regulatory process. “We also need pressure from the betting sector in the Brazilian market, to further strengthen a justified approval of the project in the Chamber.”
For Bacelar, Brazil needs to take advantage of this moment for regulation, aiming that games can help in the economic recovery. “Either we localize the game or we will lose the great potential of this sector in our economy.”
The federal deputy also recalled that the ban in Brazil spans decades and is already totally antiquated. “This year marks 80 years since the ban on animal gambling and 75 years since the ban on casinos”, adding: “Gambling is a constitutive activity of society, in other words, any society must choose only between legal gambling and gambling illegal.”
Congressman Newton Cardoso Jr also highlighted the potential of the game market in the country. “It is very important for society to see the size and potential of this sector for the Brazilian scenario”, even encouraging people to get in touch with their representatives in the National Congress: “encourage deputies, comment on their social networks and demonstrate the interest in the complete regulation of the area”.
However, the deputy stressed that inspection and combating irregular activity must be intense and continuous. “We need to be aware of activities that are already taking place illegally or online, and regulate these as appropriately as possible.”
Cardoso projected that “online gambling and betting will be a fundamental part of the sector’s integration in Brazil”, adding that the process advanced in 2021. “This year the topic has advanced a lot. In a matter of 3, 4 months, we had great progress in the debate on the regulation of betting”.
Waldir Eustáquio Marques Jr, on the other hand, addressed the need to define rules for everyone involved in this industry, as well as highlighting responsible gaming. “We need to establish clear rules for the consumer, operator and regulator. Responsible gaming is also an important part. This is something that must be integrated into every betting system, starting from the customer to the operator.”
In addition, the secretary guaranteed that the guidelines will be linked to the best global practices. “Our guidelines and strategies are always focused on the best global practices. It is necessary to have confidence and credibility in the regulation project”.
Magnho José, in turn, presented expressive data about the game in Brazil. “The sports betting market, casinos and online games move around 12 billion per year.”
Because it is such a broad industry, he said the country will need a competent regulatory body. “Gaming in Brazil has to be legalized, regulated, controlled and debugged. We’re really going to need a gaming regulatory agency that covers all sports.”
Panel: Cyber Security – Game Security
Focused on game security, Gilson Banin (Microsoft) and Henrique Costa (Pay4Fun) – moderated by Leonardo Baptista (Pay4Fun) – mentioned the importance of establishing strict security rules so that this segment can develop and prosper in the national territory.
“Security against cybercrimes is essential for operators and providers. As the numbers prove that attacks on websites and online platforms are increasing exponentially”, pointed out Henrique Costa.
Costa also recommended double attention in every movement in the ‘digital world’: “Users must be aware of good practices when using applications, platforms or accessing websites. It is necessary to be careful in every ‘movement’ we carry out on the internet.”
While Gilson Banin stressed that the information security area is becoming more and more essential for companies. “Information security is proving to be an important area for all companies that have a direct connection to work or store information on the Internet.”
Therefore, creating a team has become a necessity to minimize risk. “The structuring of a security team is essential to avoid any type of harmful action aimed at the platforms”, concluded Banin.
Panel: Payments in Brazil / Legality and Compliance
Moderated by Fernando Gonçalves (FGo Legal), Ari Celia (Pay4Fun), Fabio Tiberia (Igaming International Consultant) and Marlon Tseng (PagSmile) they deepened the importance of having clear payment and compliance policies aimed at a transparent and reliable market.
“It’s no use offering a good product, a good game and not providing a quick and guaranteed payment to the customer,” said Ari Celia, who added: “The role of the payment method in this market is to offer a secure process and good alternatives to customers.”
Celia also spoke about the regulatory model underway in Brazil: We are going through an important moment. The regulation does not need to be perfect, as the process is constructive and over time we will evolve, whether in games or in payments.”
Marlon Tseng stated that the speed of payment is the key factor for players to choose one or another betting platform in the country. “Speed of payment is the first priority when customers look for betting sites in Brazil”.
The international consultant iGaming, Fabio Tiberia provided very impressive numbers when entering the issue of cryptocurrencies, currently in vogue. “Cryptocurrencies already represent the third largest payment ‘flag’ in the world, with the blockchain. In this sense, Bitcoin presents a great technological innovation”.
Tiberia also mentioned that numerous sports teams are betting on this digital tokens and coins market to increase their revenues. “Various clubs around the world are investing in tokens and digital currencies. This is a unique transformation.”
The consultant even projected that cryptocurrencies ‘will take over’ the world soon. “I believe that in 4 or 5 years from now, cryptocurrencies will be the first payment ‘flag’ in the world.”
For Tseng, this perspective should be materialized by the speed when performing operations with cryptocurrencies. “Cryptos are a very strong trend in the US, Europe and Asia. It turns out that digital currencies could even have a ‘world PIX’ function, where transactions would be completed quickly and from anywhere.”
Panel: Game Providers
This morning’s last panel brought an essential point to this period of debate about building a game industry in Brazil. The conversation involved André Schuartz (Pipa Games), Erick Mendez (Evolution), Ramiro Atucha (Vibra Gaming), Jesus Rafael Campos (BetConnections), and Peter Nolte (Salsa Technology).
André Schuartz declared that the regionalization of live titles is a great differential in the national market. “The regionalization of live games was the difference in the Brazilian scenario. Considering all the cultural characteristics of each location.”
Schuartz added: “Furthermore, live games deliver a very big socialization factor. Our customers started to follow our games as if it were a television program.”
Erick Mendez also recognized the interaction promoted by live casino games. “Live casinos deliver a very different feel, it’s not just a machine. This type of game offers an opportunity to socialize and get closer to customers, providing an interactive environment for players.”
The care taken to understand the differences in each region was also remembered by Jesus Rafael Campos. “It is important for the entire industry to unite and understand the peculiarities of each region,” he stated.
Next, Campos recognized that social media completely changed the market because of new possibilities for interactivity. “Social media has totally changed our lives. The industry must continue working on interaction and engagement, as we have such a great tool and ‘direct’ contact with customers.”
Ramiro Atucha took the opportunity to mention two factors related to location: “the game performance and the acquisition of players. When someone accesses a branded game or website, if they find more familiar elements that make them ‘at ease’, the chances of retaining the person with a recurring customer are great”.
However, Atucha made a reservation: “In addition to delivering a good performance, the location of your game must respect the culture of each region.”
Participants in this BiS 2021 panel also drew a parallel between how to generate engagement in online gaming platforms and land-based casinos. For Mendez, many players already demonstrate not being so attached to physical machines and prefer to play online.
