André Gelfi, head of the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming, stated that within approximately five years, the number of platforms will decrease by about 50 percent.
Brazil.- On January 1, the sports betting sector began to operate in Brazil's regulated market. Currently, more than 60 companies, owning around 130 brands, operate with definitive or provisional licenses issued by the Secretariat of Awards and Betting (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance. However, according to the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming (IBJR), this number will begin to decrease by half as many of these companies will not obtain a sufficient market share to maintain a sustainable operation.
The president of IBJR, André Gelfi, gave an interview to Exame magazine and stated that in five years, the number of betting platforms operating in Brazil should be reduced by half. "In my opinion, the Brazilian market cannot support 66 operators. If you consider that 50 percent of the market is in the hands of three or four companies, the other 50 percent must be divided among 55. This gives less than 1 percent market share for each. There is no way to sustain an operation like this," he said.
"What will happen is that smaller and less structured companies will be the target of mergers and acquisitions. We are already seeing this movement. There are many companies for sale. An example was the purchase of Betnacional by Flutter, which should be completed soon. This is a natural dynamic of the competitive market. In five years, I believe the number of operators in Brazil will be much lower, perhaps around 30 companies, which is still quite competitive," he added.
Even with this downward trend, Gelfi defends the regulation of the sector. "Regulation is necessary because it provides legal security, consumer protection, and ensures tax payment. Without rules, serious companies lose out to those that have no commitment to the industry and operate informally. Regulation is the only way to separate the wheat from the chaff," he said.
During the interview, Gelfi was asked about whether the IBJR had estimated a timeframe for the elimination of illegal websites. "My expectation is that 70 percent of this problem will be resolved in six months. After that, the rest will become more difficult. The most obvious, the large unauthorized companies, these will go away faster. The problem will be the long tail, the smaller companies, which change names, which are harder to track," Gelfi responded.
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The president of the IBJR also referred to the security processes adopted by Brazil and how they are at the forefront in terms of implementing cutting-edge technology mechanisms. "Brazil is not behind other markets in terms of regulation. The use of facial recognition, for example, was an innovation that even impressed Europeans. Here in Brazil, we are already accustomed to this in banks and other services. It took them a while to understand, but they recognized that we are ahead in some areas," he said.
