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Where does the Sport of Kings fit into the Brazilian market?
With a regulated Brazil now in sight, Richard Duncan, Head of Business Development at racing odds and data provider PA Betting Services, assesses the potential for the sport to become a key product in this emerging market
With the last few months having seen Brazil’s sports betting bill clear all the hurdles needed to finally be signed into law, many in the sports betting world have understandably taken a keen interest in the possibilities offered by South America’s largest country.
The home of footballing greats Pelé and Ronaldo and boasting more World Cup titles than any other country, Brazil’s passion for and the resulting potential of football betting is clear. There are a number of parallels to be drawn between a market such as the UK and Brazil when it comes to football. For one thing, the similar level of devotion among the fan base looks set to ensure that football will easily remain the biggest betting turnover generator in Brazil, as it is in the UK.
What’s less clear is how likely racing is to come anywhere near the second place it holds in the UK market, where it accounted for 36% of remote betting turnover in the last set of official Gambling Commission statistics. However, there are a number of comparisons that can be made between the UK and Brazil when it comes to racing. For example, there’s a hardcore fraternity of racing fans and many more casual racegoers, those who are likely to view a day at the races as much in terms of the experience as the opportunity to have a flutter. Not to mention that Brazil boasts the third-largest horse population globally. The thoroughbred industry has been growing steadily since the 1990s, with notable group one winners such as Siphon, Sandpit and, more recently, Bal a Bali elevating the breed’s prominence.
But there’s a huge difference in the local availability of racing. While Brazil’s enormous size makes it the fifth largest country in the world and its population of more than 215 million makes it the seventh most populated, it has just four racetracks, albeit these are well-attended on race days. The UK, ranked 80th by land area and 21st by population, meanwhile, is home to 59 racecourses.
This disparity goes some way to explaining why football is taking the lion’s share of sports betting turnover in Brazil despite currently being unregulated, while racing takes a fraction of this even though it’s been legal for many years.
Online operators could be doing more to cash in on local racing than they currently are. The key to making the most of the Brazilian opportunity is educating the local population on the benefits of betting opportunities that the sheer volume of international races affords and cross-selling this to keen sports bettors.
Filling the gaps
Because while football is unlikely to lose its crown as the most popular sport among Brazilian bettors, the problem with football, NFL, basketball, MMA, golf, tennis and everything else, is that there are so many gaps in the schedule. And once the significant licence fees outlined in the new law have been paid, both local and foreign operators are likely going to need to optimise their product with as little downtime as possible in order to justify their investment.
Racing has the edge over all other sports because on a global basis there exists a full calendar where there is always something to bet on.
In the UK and Ireland we’ve already seen this approach used to great effect with the relatively recent introductions of North American, French, South African, Australian and Asian racing for domestic audiences. This secondary content does well as it lands in either prime leisure hours or is filler at weekends or for poor weather conditions. The increasing globalisation of racing was, in fact, one of the key reasons for our acquisition of Asian racing data provider iRace Media in the second half of last year.
In this respect, foreign operators, some of which have established a foothold in Brazil prior to a regulatory regime and are savvy with this approach used in established markets, may have an edge over others, simply because they’re experienced with the product.
Brazil is likely to be the same as any other fledgling market in the sense that if a company has just started offering a legal gambling product, they are likely going to have greater comfort in offering products to bet on that they are familiar with.
Mitigating the risk
In conversations our team has had with operators in emerging markets such as Brazil, Latam and Africa, the racing knowledge gap is an issue that’s come up repeatedly. They could easily integrate with a data provider such as ourselves from a technical perspective, but they may not fully understand the data they are looking at and some worry this leaves them overexposed.
There are a number of things that make racing more challenging than other sports to trade. For a start, the vernacular used in racing is not something that everyone understands if they’ve not been exposed to it before. In addition, a lot of operators fear racing because while they believe it can make them good money, they know there are people out there, professional punters and big racing syndicates, that know more about racing than their own traders.
This view is not unique to Brazil or even new markets, it’s something we also hear in our core markets and it possibly goes some way to explaining why new operators sometimes take every sport on offer before they get to racing. But inevitably, most take racing at some point because the volume on offer is too great to ignore. However, one recent shift worth mentioning is that more operators new to racing are opting for a platform partner or pricing partner to avoid being exposed to risks they aren’t comfortable with.
This is something that may be even more attractive to operators in emerging markets like Brazil given their lack of experience with global fixed odds racing to date. One thing that may work in their favour is that the country’s bettors would also appear to lack the maturity shown in established markets when it comes to the type of bets they are placing.
For instance, virtually all of the bets taken on football in Brazil are multis, which are bad for punters but which operators love as they are high margin and low risk. A diverse racing portfolio similarly has the potential to deliver high margins for operators and keep players engaged year-round, meaning the product could be just as successful in Brazil as it is in many more established markets.
Richard Duncan is Head of Business Development at PA Betting Services. He has been with parent company PA Media Group since 2002, with the bulk of his career having been spent working in its racing team.
The worlds of street culture and cutting-edge entertainment collide as Street League Skateboarding (SLS) and online gaming powerhouse Stake announce a new global partnership.
This partnership, which kicked off with Stake center stage as the Presenting Rights Partner of SLS Miami and the first SLS Takeover in Santa Monica in May, will run throughout the SLS Championship Tour season, culminating with the Super Crown in São Paulo in December.
The wide-ranging partnership will see Stake prominently featured across the live events with branding on key skate course features and broadcast segments at the biggest skateboarding events worldwide.
Additionally, fans can expect to see the Stake brand integrated into the unique SLS social content, including the “What’s at Stake” event preview, and the all-new Game of S.T.A.K.E. – a creative twist on the classic Game of Skate, which will feature a head-to-head battle between SLS pros.
To round out the partnership, Stake will also be the presenting rights partner of the annual Trick of the Year contest, which allows skaters worldwide to submit their tricks for the illustrious prize. The Trick of the Year award winners will be announced in December.
“We’re excited to welcome an exciting brand like Stake to the SLS family”, said Frank Lamicella, CEO of Thrill Sports and parent company of SLS. “This partnership will deliver innovative activation elements and experiences to both our brands and fans as we travel the world for the 2025 SLS Championship Tour.”
“Skateboarding is more than sport – it’s fashion, music, culture, and raw energy. That’s exactly the space Stake loves to play in, and SLS is the perfect partner to bring that to life,” said Akhil Sarin, Chief Marketing Officer at Stake. “This alignment makes it an excellent partnership for our brand.”
Leading business, technology, finance, and gaming law firm, Segev LLP, is proud to announce its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, Segev has evolved from a bold idea into a multi-jurisdictional firm serving clients across Canada, the U.S., and beyond.
Built for innovation-driven industries, the firm is widely recognized for its work with companies at the forefront of gaming, crypto, technology, and emerging sectors. “Our 10-year anniversary is a defining moment,” said Founding Partner, Ron Segev. “It’s a testament to the strength of our team and our culture of teamwork, self-improvement, and growth – all of which is directed at scoring wins for our great clients.”
As industries like fintech, crypto, iGaming, and AI have matured, so has the firm, often in parallel with its clients. “We’ve all grown together with our clients from one success to the next, whether it be helping clients complete financings or helping them close business,” said Managing Partner Alon Segev. “I look forward to continued growth for us and our clients in the next 10 years!”
The firm’s client-first approach has consistently earned recognition from top legal ranking guides. Segev LLP is ranked by Chambers and Partners as a “Leading Firm” and “Band-1” in Canada for Gaming Law and are also recommended by The Legal 500 and Lexology. These rankings reflect the team’s ability to deliver strategic, high-quality legal solutions that align with their clients’ business goals.
Recognized for their unique ability to exceed expectations and deliver out-of-the-box solutions, Segev LLP’s clients have affirmed: “The firm demonstrates its capability not only to understand complex matters, but also to offer solutions that are practical, pragmatic, and value-adding.”
“Segev possesses outstanding resources and maintains global partnerships, enabling it to deliver precise and informed responses to any queries related to the iGaming industry.”
“Epic service, very good, I won the case!”
“Great service, friendly atmosphere, and support.”
Several Segev team members also reflected on the milestone: “There was a moment early in my time here when I realized I wasn’t just being brought in to help; I was expected to contribute, take initiative, and run with big ideas. That stuck with me,” said Negin Alavi.
“Together with our clients, [Segev] has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade. I’m honored to have contributed to this journey and to celebrate these shared successes,” said David McHugh.
“Segev has cultivated a thriving law practice on the principle that challenges are to be embraced as opportunities. The approach has enabled us to grow as lawyers, but more importantly, it has enabled us to ensure the success of our clients,” said Mark Balestra.
“Since joining through Segev’s Ontario expansion, I’ve had the chance to work alongside some of the sharpest and most collaborative lawyers in the gaming space,” added Manav Bhargava. “As a full-service firm and industry leader, Segev stands out for its ability to support innovative businesses with practical, forward-thinking legal advice.”
Segev LLP will commemorate the anniversary with a series of internal and external initiatives throughout the remainder of the year.
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Quick Custom Intelligence Partners with ComOps to Offer Secure, Scalable Off-Site Human Player-Development Services for Casinos
Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI), the global leader in AI-driven casino analytics, today announced a strategic partnership with ComOps, a hospitality performance partner delivering support-as-a-service solutions that enhance guest experiences and improve workforce efficiency. Through this partnership, QCI clients can now extend their host teams with ComOps’ bilingual (English/Spanish) player-development agents, available as fractional or fully virtual support.
Key Benefits for Casino Operators:
Turn-key scalability: ComOps agents operate directly within the QCI Enterprise Platform, receiving real-time access to player lists, campaign tasks, and performance dashboards. This allows properties to rapidly scale host operations without increasing headcount.
Secure, compliant operations: Agents access property systems via Microsoft® Virtual Desktop with multifactor authentication. All work is performed in a secured, clean-desk facility—no phones, pens, or paper—protecting player data and marketing offers.
Full-service guest engagement: Services include inbound and outbound telemarketing, VIP event invitations, and follow-up calls are executed from QCI’s dynamic call lists. When required, ComOps agents can enter hotel reservations directly into leading PMS platforms, Agilysys PMS, Oracle OHIP, or Infor HMS, to complete the guest journey.
Rapid deployment: Game Changing Technologies (GCT) will provision and manage all additional QCI licenses required, streamlining onboarding and accelerating time-to-value.
“Our customers are scaling faster than ever, and staffing expert host talent can be a major constraint,” said Dr. Ralph Thomas, CEO of QCI. “By integrating ComOps’ secure, off-site human agents into the QCI workflow, operators can instantly expand capacity, maintain data integrity, and focus on delivering personalized guest experiences that drive revenue.”
“Casinos need flexible, cost-effective ways to deepen player relationships,” added Robert Levine, CEO of ComOps. “This partnership combines ComOps’ hospitality expertise with QCI’s real-time analytics to help properties increase trip frequency, elevate guest engagement, and optimize VIP experiences.”
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