Latin America
Big game player: Betinvest engage lucrative LATAM sports betting market
After scouting out a whole host of opportunities on the rise in South America Betinvest’s VP of Business Development Valentyn Kyrylenko explained that the solutions provider is catering its products to the specific requirements of the LATAM market.
In recent weeks you’ve attended both Juegos Miami and LIMA in Peru, what makes Latin America and the Caribbean so exciting for you at this time?
Yes, we’ve attended a lot of industry events recently. We also exhibited at the Brazilian Gaming Congress, which took place shortly after the Peru Gaming Show in June, and we visited FADJA in Colombia earlier in the year. We’ve gathered a lot of useful information about the key features of the market at panel discussions and through face-to-face communication with local businesses and regulators. We firmly believe that there’s a huge potential for the gambling industry in Latin American countries and that their governments have taken a positive step in regulating it. As a leading provider of sports betting solutions, we’re obliged to keep abreast of and be active in the places and markets where the industry needs to be driven. That’s why the LATAM region is not the only region we’ve got our eyes on, although it is a very important one. The market is huge and it has limitless potential for companies in the iGaming sector. It’s only going to get bigger, better and more lucrative in the years to come, and that’s good news all around. Sport is an important part of LATAM culture; people love to watch sports, and to cheer on and support their favourite teams by placing bets. At the moment, locals don’t have particularly good or relevant industry experience so they need high-level sports betting products and must learn how to work with them. This is one of the upcoming tasks for European providers. In fact, if estimates are to be believed, Latin America could be more lucrative than all the regulated gambling markets in the United States for the foreseeable future.
Could you give an indication of the scale of Betinvest’s initiatives in the region at this time?
We’re still researching and exploring this region. We decided to visit these countries ourselves to participate in the biggest events, to network with partners, local operators and regulators, and to get industry insights. In accordance with the knowledge we now possess, we can tailor our plan for entering this market as a sports betting supplier and start new projects with our LATAM partners, but it’s going to take time. Long term, we plan to open a Betinvest office in Brazil, the largest South American country, and continue to provide our products and solutions to local operators who’ll be able to operate legally under the new legislation. In our opinion, Brazil is an excellent point of entry into the whole region.
When measuring players habits and regulatory red-tape, how different is it to working within Europe and do you feel you’re still having to make a name for yourself in this emerging market?
People in this region live and breathe sport and, what’s more, they love to bet. You can see this on the streets where almost everyone watches football matches on their mobile phones and glances through windows into houses where there’s a match showing on TV. They’re obsessed with sport, especially football. It’s the favourite sport of almost all the men and roughly 50 percent of the women (these figures are not based on official statistics). If we look at the behaviour of Latin American players, we can see that people usually place bets with small stakes of around $5-10. It would be very unusual to see a stake as big as $1,000. We can see that their gaming style is quite different to that of European bettors and generally less advanced. Taking Peru as an example, having just a few markets and only around 4,000 events is sufficient. Another important point is that local players are more likely to trust you as an operator if you have physical betting shops as well as online services. This is not due to the quality of the internet connection – it’s perfectly stable and having a mobile application is vital for every operator in order to meet their customers’ needs. The reason is simply that people have more confidence in a company when they’re used to seeing it in their local area. On average, the audience for gambling in Europe is younger than it is in South America. Some sports, including those that have a huge following in Europe, are practically non-existent in the LATAM region. Many will be surprised to hear about the passion for lotteries, as well as the rise in search traffic for sites that focus on games of chance. Regulators are very open and it’s easy to find all the necessary information. Making a name for yourself is an important step when you enter any new market. It’s something we do every time we exhibit or visit industry events and promote our sports betting products. We expect this market to show impressive growth. We’re ready to invest in it and to help the region to develop experienced players and reliable operators.
With such an engaged player base in the region, how are you adapting your business model to ensure your pricing and infrastructure is both profitable and sustainable?
We plan to open a Betinvest office in this region and to supply our time-tested sports betting products and solutions. Our products are 100 percent compliant with LATAM market requirements. We’ll be reconsidering our pricing for this region, since the offers we have for our European partners won’t suit those in the LATAM market very well. They don’t need as many events or markets in their Sportsbook, which means that we can reduce the price for them. We’re also working on creating some special offers for our partners in Latin American countries.
Industry leaders agree new extension to data and streaming partnership that will see FIRST – Best in Sports turbo-charge global growth and boost annual revenues for Genius Sports
FIRST – Best in Sports, the Tier 1 provider of sports betting solutions, and Genius Sports, the leading sports data and technology company, today announce that they have extended their landmark partnership that will see Genius Sports continue to deliver its industry-leading betting data and streaming technology to FIRST – Best in Sports.
As part of the new agreement, FIRST – Best in Sports will distribute Genius Sports data and streaming content to its expanded B2B network and grow the data company’s volume, reach and annual revenues in a major way as it brings partners onstream in Latin America, with Brazil as a major focus.
- FIRST’s growth in Brazil and leading position as a LATAM-focused sportsbook solution will be further enhanced by Genius’s focus in South America.
- This includes coverage of Brazil’s Serie A, Serie B, Campeonato Paulista, Mexico’s Liga MX and the Primera Ligas in Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.
The deal extension is part of a comprehensive agreement between two companies that are setting industry standards for the speed, accuracy and depth of their online sports betting offerings. The new partnership also sees FIRST become the official betting partner of Genius Sports, with the group set to recommend FIRST – Best in Sports to operators seeking fully-managed sports betting solutions.
Tom Light, CEO of FIRST – Best in Sports, commented: “We have been working with Genius Sports for many years, and I am delighted to be extending and deepening our relationship with such an industry leader. FIRST – Best in Sports and Genius Sports represent the gold standard in their respective fields and the new agreement will enable us to continue growing revenues for Genius Sports as we launch new partners and expand our network. We look forward to providing the most complete and data-rich solution to sports betting operators in the world’s fastest-growing markets.”
Esportes da Sorte hosted its Match-Fixing Prevention Forum last week at Ceará and Náutico as main sponsor of both clubs. Held in partnership with Sportradar, the initiative is part of a series of in-person workshops, with upcoming sessions planned for Corinthians and Ferroviária.
The project aims to combat illegal practices and reinforce a strong commitment to integrity in sport. Activities were tailored for athletes and members of the technical staff from the men’s and women’s professional teams, as well as the under-20 squads. During the sessions, topics such as the definition of match-fixing, types of fraud, fraudsters’ modus operandi, legal risks, and reputational impacts were covered. Participants were offered practical guidance on how to respond to suspicious approaches.
“This training programme reinforces our commitment to sports integrity and responsible gaming, pillars that guide our actions. We believe education is the best form of prevention, and we want to stand alongside clubs in this joint effort for transparency and the protection of sport,” said Ana Carolina Luna Maçães, Compliance Manager at Esportes Gaming Brasil, the group behind the Esportes da Sorte brand.
“Ceará takes this topic very seriously. The club is an important player in the fight against match-fixing. We act preventively with regular meetings and have a handbook that addresses the topic with our squad. It is our duty to provide these moments of learning for athletes and technical staff. We live in a time when the integrity of sport is being questioned. In this scenario, actions like this are extremely important,” commented Lucas Drubscky, Football Executive at Ceará.
The sessions were led by Felippe Marchetti, Integrity Partnerships Manager at Sportradar, a global sports technology company and recognized authority in sports integrity. In Brazil, Sportradar partners with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and 17 state federations, monitoring more than 10,000 matches per season. The company recently signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sports.
“Raising awareness among athletes and teams is one of the most effective ways to protect competitions from manipulation. These workshops are designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to recognize threats and act responsibly. We are proud to support initiatives like this that strengthen the integrity of Brazilian sports,” said Felippe Marchetti.
Blokotech, a leading innovator in iGaming software solutions, has appointed Cristian Tonanti as its Casino Partnership Manager. The move strengthens the company’s mission to build technically robust, growth-focused partnerships across Latin America.
Based in Argentina, Tonanti brings an impressive mix of business development knowledge and technical expertise to the company. He has held multiple positions, including Business Development Manager, Broadcast Engineer, and Software Developer – giving him a 360° perspective on both the commercial and technical elements of casino content delivery.
Blokotech Casino Partnership Manager Cristian Tonanti said: “I’m joining Blokotech at an exciting juncture as the company accelerates its next growth stage. I look forward to enhancing our existing casino partnerships, streamlining integrations, and adding new partners that will play a key role in the company’s mission to deliver advanced, localised gaming solutions across Latin America.”
Tonanti will focus on signing and nurturing casino content partnerships, driving new integrations and onboarding game suppliers, and ensuring efficient delivery and performance.
Blokotech Co-Founder and CEO Salvatore Messina commented: “Cristian’s combination of commercial insight and technical fluency makes him the perfect fit. His experience complements our growth plans in the LatAm region, and we’re confident he’ll bring immediate value to our operations.”
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