Entain, a global operator of sports betting and online gaming, was present at the 3rd Brazilian Sports Integrity Summit. At the event, Marrtin Lycka, VP of regulatory affairs, gave an exclusive interview to GMB. He highlighted the advances in regulation in Brazil and stated that Sportingbet, one of the group's brands, is awaiting authorization to operate in the country and will work in collaboration with competitors for a transparent and serious market.
Games Magazine Brasil – Entain has submitted a license application for Sportingbet to operate sports betting and online games in Brazil. What is the status of this process and your expectations regarding approval by the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets?
Martin Lycka –
Regarding the application, the entire sector hopes that the applicants will be successful in obtaining the license around November 20th, and our hope is that we will win. It is one of our major goals in the Brazilian market, to obtain the authorization and enter the regulated market as soon as it is launched.
And what are the other goals in the future regulated Brazilian market?
In my opinion – and that's why we are at the 3rd Sports Integrity Summit – it is to achieve long-term sustainability in the market. That's why we discussed at the Football Museum all the topics related to sports integrity, gambling addiction, and, in general, the protection of our consumers.
Is this already a policy that has been adopted for a long time by Sportingbet, to guide and work for responsible gaming. So, is it following the same path?
Exactly, the awareness and education of our consumers and clients. So, it is a policy and a very important factor for Entain,
Is the platform fully adapted to the realities and needs, and even more, to the demands of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets?
We are working on it and plan to have everything ready before the launch of the market. This is a policy of the company – and of the Group – to comply with all the rules that apply in individual markets. That's why – as I mentioned in my panel – we thank the Brazilian government and all the authorities, mainly from the Ministry of Finance, for the hard work they have carried out and continue to carry out, in the process of regulating sports betting and online games in Brazil.
In the authorization process applied by Entain, is there an expectation to include other betting houses besides Sportingbet?
We are not including other betting houses because we are following our own path directly through Sportingbet. At the same time, it is clear that collaboration with other brands, with other betting houses, especially within the consumer protection environment, is also a success factor of any regulated market.
So, the topics we discussed here, about responsible gaming, combating gambling addiction, sports integrity, fraud prevention, and money laundering, will be our focus and should be exempt from any type of competition. Of course, we are running a business and, as I have already said, there must be a high level of collaboration with our competitors.
Source: Exclusive GMB
