AMERICA’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE PLATFORM

ALEXANDRE FONSECA, BETANO'S COUNTRY MANAGER BRAZIL, spotlights the company's latest developments and his opinion on the current state of the Brazilian gaming landscape

BY FERNANDO NOODT MOLINS

The popularity of sports betting continues to grow around the world and companies are looking to boost momentum through sponsorship deals that can lead to a better level of exposure.

Many operators choose to partner with sports teams to build brand exposure, a path that Betano has just ventured down. Arguably, the operator hit the motherlode when it managed to strike a sponsorship deal with the FIFA Club World Cup.

Although the agreement was aimed at the European market, the Kaizen Gaming brand extended its relationship with the international governing body for football and signed a similar agreement, but with the World Cup. This time around, the operator had a more global focus, which included Latin America.

In the southern hemisphere, Betano has already established its brand as one of the most recognised internationally but, more specifically, in Brazil, where it sponsors top clubs Fluminense and Atlético Mineiro. The operator also holds the naming rights for the Copa do Brasil and the Supercopa do Brasil, among other contracts with different sporting organisations.

ONLINE SPORTS BETTING COULD TURN BETWEEN R$2BN AND R$6BN INTO STATE COFFERS

With more than 214 million inhabitants, the South American giant is one of the markets with the greatest potential for the global gaming industry. And, after years of twists and turns, the political power has finally decided to move forward with the regulation of the sector in 2023.

According to the government’s forecasts, online sports betting could turn between R$2bn and R$6bn (approximately $387m to $1.16bn USD) into state coffers, making it impossible for lawmakers to continue to ignore the approval of a proper legal framework.

Given this promising scenario for the gaming industry, visibility and building trust with local players is key to riding the wave of sports betting in the local market.

SBC: How did the deal to become the World Cup’s first betting partner originate? What about the recent deal with the Club World Cup?

Alexandre Fonseca: Kaizen Gaming, Betano's parent company, recently celebrated 10 years since its establishment. In the course of these 10 years, sponsorships have been a key pillar of our strategy and our contribution to sports. We already have some of Europe's and South America's biggest football clubs in our roster, including "Os Tres Grandes" in Portugal, meaning Porto, Benfica and Sporting as well as Atlético Mineiro and Fluminense in Brazil, among others.

Our motto is continuous improvement and after having sponsored many successful teams, going for a big tournament sponsorship such as the World Cup has always been the next step and within our targets. We are very happy to have been the first in our industry to secure a partnership with FIFA and the Club World Cup was further proof of our commitment to football and sports in general.

SBC: How important is it to have a responsible gambling team to score this type of deal? Is it a requirement, is it just added value or is it something that gets worked on over time?

AF: Responsible gaming is a core principle for us. At Kaizen Gaming, we believe that betting can only be fun if it's healthy and therefore we keep investing in new technologies that aim to protect our players' health and data against any sort of vulnerability or fraud.

SBC: Betting sponsorships have taken over Brasileirao’s Serie A and some of the latest deals have been the biggest in some clubs’ history. How important are these big types of deals for the development of Brazilian football?

AF: The entrance of sports betting operators into the Brazilian market, which therefore generated this wave of huge sponsorships, couldn't have happened in a better time. I believe everyone is benefiting from this, the brands which are associated with big clubs and engaging with their fans, the clubs which are receiving more resources to be invested on structure and players as well as the fans who can benefit from multiple activations and promotions made by the sponsoring brands.

SBC: What role have sports betting sponsorships played in the growth of Brazilian dominance in South America’s club football over the last years? What does the improvement of a club’s performance mean for an operator that has its brand printed on its shirt?

AF: I think it does, mainly on the "smaller" clubs which are now seeing a volume of investment bigger than ever. With the contribution of the betting industry we can definitely expect to see an overall improvement in the quality of the football in Brazil and Latin America.

SBC: What value do these sponsorship deals bring for sports betting companies in Brazil as we continue to await for the segment’s regulation? Does the exposure lead to adoption and, therefore, to a bigger need to set a proper regulatory framework?

AF: It depends on the operator. Some operators like us have sponsorships at the core of their strategy and we think it helps to strengthen our ties with the local market and, of course, with the fans through activations and promos, while others are more interested in media and credibility associated with multimillion dollar contracts.

SBC: Have sports betting operators been in contact with Brazilian lawmakers to share their input on the industry’s regulation proposals?

AF: Since 2018, when the law was introduced, we saw many initiatives from different operators in trying to set a communication channel with the government. Now with the Lula's administration and with a more mature market, we believe the time has come and we are confident that the industry will be invited to discuss the best practices and how to create a sustainable regulated market in Brazil.

SBC: Has anything changed in your expectations for the industry’s regulation with the change of president? What are the prospects for the gaming industry during Lula’s mandate?

AF: Yes, we feel that the current administration is more willing to regulate the market given the massive adoption we saw happening in Brazil mainly during the last two years. I think finally the government has understood the importance of regulating the segment in order to protect the players and of course to generate tax which will highly contribute to the development of the Brazilian economy. •