Licensing – Bookielink

LatAm Q3 results round-up: Brazil betting launch dominates discussions

With the majority of the gambling industry having published their Q3 results, iGB looks at how operators fared in the region and their plans for the future there.

Brazil will launch its legal betting market on 1 January 2025 and one operator that is hoping to make a real dent in the market is the giant Flutter Entertainment.

Back in September, Flutter announced it had agreed to acquire an initial 56% stake in NSX Group, which operates the Brazil-facing Betnacional brand. The deal is worth $350 million (£266.5 million/€316.0 million).

For the nine months ending 30 September, Flutter reported year-on-year revenue growth in Brazil of 4%. In its earnings call following the Q3 results release, CFO Rob Coldrake spoke of the operator’s excitement for the market opening.

“We’re very confident about our approach in Brazil,” Coldrake told reporters. “We’ve grown with our brands that we’ve got there already. We’re very excited about the NSX acquisition.”

The NSX acquisition will create a new..

October 1, 2024

Influx of Brazil betting licence applications as enforcement deadline passes

With the deadline for licence applications from operators wishing to be active in Brazil during the transition period closing at 11.59pm yesterday (30 September), a late flurry has taken the total of requests to 182.
In mid-September, the Brazil government published Normative Ordinance No 1,475. This set out plans to launch enforcement action against operators that failed to submit a licence application by 1 October.

Only companies that were both already active and that had applied for a licence would be allowed to continue operating in the transition period between 1 October and 31 December. This counts down to the legal online market launch on 1 January 2025.

This is the second key licensing deadline in Brazil. The first passed on 20 August when the initial 90-day window of preference shut. The 113 operators that applied during that period ensured their applications will be processed by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) ahead of the legal market’s launch date.

The announcem..

September 30, 2024

Brazil bills call for spending caps among various vulnerable groups

Two new bills in Brazil aim to curb addiction and prevent gambling harms by limiting how much vulnerable groups can bet. These include the elderly and those receiving financial benefits. President Lula is expected to address these measures later this week.
Ahead of the licensed betting market’s launch on 1 January 2025, various government officials have raised concerns about the harmful social and fiscal impacts gambling could have on Brazilians.

PL 3,718/2024, presented by Senator Alessandro Vieira, and Congressman Elmar Nascimento’s PL 3,745/2024, both seek to limit how much various vulnerable members of society can gamble. Both bills were presented late last week on 26 and 27 of September.

PL 3,718/2024 would limit betting among the elderly, those registered in the active debt or credit protection registry and low-income families on the government’s CadÚnico social welfare programme.

Spending caps would be enforced once a certain amount of money is lost via betting. Additional ..

September 23, 2024

Grupo Silvio Santos partners OpenBet for new betting brand in Brazil

Grupo Silvio Santos has announced it will partner with OpenBet for the launch of its Todos Querem Jogar (TQJ) venture in Brazil, deploying the provider’s end-to-end betting ecosystem.
The new long-term agreement will see Grupo Silvio Santos, a conglomerate that includes the Brazilian Television Network (SBT), offer OpenBet’s responsible gambling technology, its player account management (PAM) system and its managed trading services.

Grupo Silvio Santos applied for a licence on 19 August, the day before the 20 August deadline for the initial 90-day window of preference. Operators that applied for a licence during that period will be guaranteed to have their applications processed by the legal market launch date of 1 January 2025.

The TQJ platform will aim to leverage Grupo Silvio Santos’ extensive media reach, with the conglomerate claiming its shows on SBT reach over 113 million Brazilians every month with an average per day viewership exceeding 29 million.

José Roberto Maciel, Grup..

September 11, 2024

Apuesta Total CEO: There isn’t room for everyone in Peru’s regulated market

Apuesta Total CEO Gonzalo Perez expects three or four operators will dominate the newly-regulated online market in Peru, while the remaining brands will fight for single-digit market share.
Law no 31557 came into effect in Peru on 9 February of this year as the government sought to regulate online gaming and sports betting in the country.

Operators active in Peru before the announcement had until 10 March to submit a licence application. Gambling regulator Mincetur warned those who did not comply could face a fine of up to Sol990,000 (€245,394/£212,401/$257,838) or criminal prosecution.

According to the law, Mincetur will process licence applications within 30 business days of submission. Perez said operators have a 15 November deadline to submit final certifications for their platform and content. Failing to meet that deadline could result in authorisation being revoked.

During that initial window in March, 145 licence requests were submitted. Meanwhile new entrants to Peru were g..

September 9, 2024

Brazil government preparing heavy crackdown on illegal betting payments

Pay4Fun director Ari Celia tells iGB Brazil's ministry of finance has established a new department to target black market operators. He expects Pix blocking efforts to be successful.
Brazil’s government is implementing hefty measures to prevent illegal operators from processing payments ahead of the legal betting market’s launch on 1 January 2025.

The government’s ministry of finance is setting up a team of eight civil servants who will specifically work on preventing illegal sites from taking and receiving payments, according to Celia.

The team will process complaints from the sector and seek to punish unlicensed payment providers and illegal sites.

Blocking Pix payments will be successful
One measure the government has publicly announced is blocking payments involving illegal operators made via Pix, an instant payment service controlled by the Central Bank of Brazil which the majority of the betting market uses.

Regulators in other markets like Germany and across Europe..

August 30, 2024

Does Flamengo’s Flabet set a blueprint for sports teams to become betting operators?

Brazilian football club Flamengo’s new Flabet sportsbook could set a trend for other teams to become operators, according to two lawyers from Bichara e Motta Advogados.
Udo Seckelmann and Pedro Heitor de Araújo, who work in the gambling & crypto practice of Brazilian law firm Bichara e Motta Advogados, say other clubs may adopt a similar model to grow revenue.

Earlier this month, Flamengo revealed plans to launch Flabet with Pixbet, the club’s master sponsor, managing the brand. Essentially the arm’s-length agreement allows the operator to become an active participant in Brazil’s sports betting market, rather than only generating revenue through sponsorship.

The Flabet agreement lasts until 2027, with Pixbet paying Flamengo a minimum amount of BRL82.5m (£11.1m/€13.2m/$14.7m) over that timespan. The club will receive BRL10m in 2024, BRL22.5m in 2025 and then BRL25m in both 2026 and 2027.

Additionally, the club could receive a royalty fee of 1% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) if that ..

August 29, 2024

Caixa expects to be a major player in the Brazil betting market

Caixa Loterias president Carlos Antônio Vieira Fernandes believes the company will be one of the leaders in the upcoming Brazil betting market.
Caixa, Brazil’s federal bank, submitted its licence application on 20 August, a day before the initial 90-day preference window closed. By applying during that timespan, Caixa, like other operators who filed in that window, is guaranteed its request will be processed by 1 January 2025. That is the expected launch date of the legal betting market in Brazil.

Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Betting (SPA) received 113 applications during the priority window.

If the application is successful, Caixa, a Brazilian bank which holds a federal monopoly on lottery, will be able to offer sports betting to players in Brazil. The market is expected to be highly lucrative.

A study by the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) predicted sports betting turnover will reach $34bn (£26.8bn/€31.1bn) by 2028. Of that, onshore gross win is expected ..

August 21, 2024

Priority window closes for Brazil licence applications as 113 apply in total

The window for prioritised licence applications in Brazil has now shut with 113 operators submitting requests ahead of the deadline and excitement is building ahead of the market going live.
By applying before the 20 August deadline passed, the 113 operators have ensured their licence applications will be processed by 1 January 2025, the forecast launch date of the legal market in Brazil.

The 90-day initial window of preference opened in May. For a while, it appeared the number of applications would fall well short of industry expectations with just Kaizen Gaming-owned Betano applying by the end of June.

However, the publication of the remaining ordinances sparked an acceleration of requests, with 108 of the 113 applications coming after the final ordinance on sanctions was announced on 31 July. Notably, the much-awaited Normative Ordinance No 1,207 on online games clarifying which games would be allowed was one of the last to be published.

The total number of applications fell shor..

August 20, 2024

KTO targeting 10% market share in Brazil’s regulated betting market

Speaking to iGB, KTO founder and CEO Andreas Bardun is aiming to capture a 10% market share of the licensed Brazilian betting market. He is confident the group's hard work and prolific localisation strategy will pay off.
KTO has been active in Brazil since 2019, when it initially launched in a single state. Prolific expansion and various regional and national sports sponsorships have helped it gain a foothold in the market.

“I believe anyone should aim to have at least 10% market share in Brazil long term and we aim to be a market leader,” Bardun explains. “To be considered among the top brands, I think you need to have at least 10%.

“To be considered among the top brands, I think you need to have at least 10% [market share],” says KTO CEO ANdreas bardun
“We know we’re probably far off that at the moment, but if you consider pound for pound what we have done in Brazil because we are coming from very humble backgrounds with very small investment into the company and to be able ..

August 13, 2024

EstrelaBet and SportyBet among latest Brazil betting licence applications

With just over a week to go until the 20 August deadline, on Monday (12 August) EstrelaBet and SportyBet submitted licence applications to operate betting in Brazil.
Reals Bet then applied today (13 August), taking the total number of applications in Brazil to 13.

Operators that apply within the 90-day initial submission window will ensure their applications are processed ahead of 1 January 2025. That is currently expected to be the launch date for the legal market.

After that date, operators active without a licence will face punitive measures.

The trio joins the likes of Betano and Betsson in applying for licences to operate in what looks set to be a huge market. A recent International Betting Integrity Association study predicted Brazil could reach $34bn (£26.8bn/€31.1bn) in sports betting turnover by 2028.

EstrelaBet chief business officer Fellipe Fraga recently told iGB the company was waiting for the final regulations to be outlined before it applied for a licence.

“There a..

August 7, 2024

Betsson, Galera.bet and F12 file Brazil betting applications as submissions hit double figures

Betsson, Galera.bet and F12.bet have joined the growing list of betting applicants in Brazil almost a week after its final regulations were published.
There is less than two weeks until the government’s 20 August initial submission deadline, which guarantees applicants in the first wave will receive a licence by the market launch date.

Betsson, Galera.bet and F12.bet have this week joined the likes of Betano and Rei do Pitaco, who made their submissions in May and July respectively.

Swedish operator Betsson moved into Brazil in 2019 by acquiring a 75% stake in Brazilian sportsbook operator Suaposta. Betsson has invested heavily in Brazil – LatAm accounted for 23% of the operator’s regulated revenues in Q2.

“I think that we have the possibility of tackling [Brazil] quicker than the big brands,” Betsson managing partner for Brazil Andre Gelfi previously told iGB. “We have a good product, we are a very respected brand. I think reputation is a critical aspect of our industry.”

Galera…

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Tag: Licensing