Brazil’s biggest betting event said goodbye this Thursday (10), leaving behind an immense legacy, with broken records, high-level seminars, a grand business fair, networking events and big names in attendance. Check out a summary of what happened on the last day of BiS SiGMA Americas.
iGaming and its impact on the economy and society
The topic was present in several debates throughout the day, being the central focus of the panel with Paulo Reales (founding partner of Sterling Corp.), Rubio Teixeira (founder of Octus), Diego Zia (CEO of B2Gether), Caroline Camilo (director of the Economic Development Secretariat of Osasco City Hall) and Bruno Omori (president of IDTCEMA).
Magnho José (Editor and President – BNLData – IJL), Leonardo Baptista (CEO – Pay4Fun), Fred Justo (General Coordinator of Money Laundering and Related Monitoring – Ministry of Finance), Ricardo Brito (LexisNexis Risk Solutions) and Marco Túlio (CEO Grupo Ana Gaming) discussed how financial means can help combat the irregular market and protect duly licensed companies.
Entrepreneurship in iGaming gained space on the panel with Karen Cohen (Director – Jobs.Bet), Vinícius de Carvalho (Investment Partner – Ikigai Ventures), Bruno Barroso (CEO – Betpass), Matt Sahakian (Business Development Director – Fastex LATAM) and Thiago Iusim (Founder – Betshield).
And, of course, the affiliate market was widely mentioned this Thursday (10), especially in the round table with Alessandro Valente (Co-founder – Super Afiliados), Valéria Suárez (Head of Affiliates – Super Afiliados), Manuel Matos (CEO – Super Afiliados) and Victor Mautone (Founder – Eightroom Group). The participants talked about trust networks and the essential role of affiliate platforms today.
Clubs, leagues and betting
Deni Honorio (DNS), Murilo Lima (OneFootball), Beto Portela (CBF Agent) and former player Dudu Cearense discussed the relationship between bookmakers, leagues and clubs. Bets currently sponsors all 20 elite clubs in Brazilian football. Lima said he does not know how long these companies will be the “solution for the entire market”.
Beto Portela pointed out that “bookmakers have completely changed the football market in Brazil, which is where I work and can speak. A segment that, in 2024, moved around R$120 billion”.
Dudu Cearense reinforced this, claiming that “the clubs are alive today because of the bookmakers. The guy who goes to a bar to watch the game also has fun betting. It’s cultural in Brazil.”
“Regulation, well-defined payment platforms, compliance and the entire well-regulated chain only strengthen this market, which plays a very important role in Brazilian football,” added the former player.
How betting is transforming national sport
Investments in the sector are not limited to football. In this context, Bruno Neves (Sports Memorabilia), Fellipe Drommond (President of Magnus Futsal), Guilherme Guimarães (Lance) and Liana Gorberg Valdetaro (Vice-President of CBMA) discussed the transformations of recent years.
According to Liana, the ideal is to anticipate the problem and always be protected in contracts. “It is important for companies to anticipate the new contractual arrangements that the evolution of the market will require.”
Guilherme Guimarães highlighted the need for training professionals and players in the industry. “Since it is a new return on investment model, professionals must also be prepared for this new era in the iGaming industry.”
While Drummond stated that the Brazilian market currently represents 0.2% of GDP, the average worldwide is 0.56%. “So, we still have a lot of room to grow. From 2026 onwards, this industry of regulated betting houses will be able to invest resources in incentive laws, which is another environment that provides a lot of financial and social growth.”
Sporting events and sponsorships
Deni Honório (DNS), Fábio Wolff (Wolff Sports), Fernando Paz (Soho Sports & Brands) and José Mauad (Arenas BTG and PlaySports) continued to reflect on the involvement of the iGaming sector in sport.
Mauad explained that a betting house that intends to close a partnership today has to understand how to “parameterize the property’s return well”.
Wolff stressed that sponsorship agreements have evolved a lot. “Previously, football sponsorship was a brand on the shirt, a sign on the field at the training center and that was it. Now, no, there are several activations involved, in addition to much more accurate monitoring of the results.”
However, he warned about the lack of professionalism in some clubs: “A club president met me here in the corridors and said to me: close a sponsorship and I’ll give you the key to the club. Unfortunately, many clubs don’t have a professional structure. But the tendency is that with the entry of betting houses and this industry, this process of professionalism can be further advanced.”
The Future of iGaming
Daniel Correia dos Santos (Egaming Services), Tiago Almeida (Oddsgate), Maria Paula Nascimento (KTO Group) and Ricardo Bianco (brmkt) projected the trends, technologies and transformations of the sector until 2050.
According to Maria Paula, “artificial intelligence is here, and we need to understand the best way to use it. If it is done in a superficial and simplistic way, it will give you a superficial answer. Therefore, we must use it as a tool to help us.”
For Ricardo Bianco, people are not using AI to help them in a process. “They are wanting artificial intelligence to think for them. And that is very dangerous. AI is a tool to help optimize your work, not to pass the work on to artificial intelligence.”
In the long term, Maria Paula highlighted the use of augmented reality. “Augmented reality is something that should change the lives of players a lot, soon. But always with great care regarding responsible gaming. However, this evolution must be accompanied by the interconnection of various actors within the iGaming universe”.
Tiago Almeida, in turn, highlighted that “all the tools we need to think about a completely automated world with a futuristic scenario already exist. Our challenge is to improve them. However, even with our industry working on innovation, we must always have a vision that is joint with responsibility and regulation.”
Brazil’s weight in the future of the sector
Regarding Brazil, Almeida mentioned that the market will receive strong investment. “I want to send a message of confidence to our market, which has the potential to grow by around 10 to 15 times in this period.”
Bianco added: “Brazil should have a more harmonious market that is well-adapted to our society in five years. We are at the beginning of the process, and with the market regulated and with content and products created specifically for Brazilian players, the trend is for this industry to boom in this period.”
Celebrities at BiS SiGMA Americas
Since Tuesday (8), numerous celebrities have visited the Transamerica Expo Center. This Thursday, sports journalist Thiago Asmar (Pilhado) participated in an activation and praised the organization, highlighting the positive impact of the sector on job creation and investment.
Among the notable names that passed through BiS SiGMA Americas: singer Zezé di Camargo, fighter José Aldo, Mc Daniel, Mc Cabelinho, presenter Milton Neves, YouTuber Luva de Pedreiro, influencers Neto Lima, Tiringa and Jon Vlogs; comedian Mauricio Meirelles, as well as Botafogo players such as Serafim, Marçal and Nathan Fernandes and former athletes Craque Neto, Galeano, Leandro Guerreiro, Chicão, Narciso, Júnior, Luizão, among others.
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