iGaming Daily

podcasts (00:00.622)
Good afternoon from iGamingDaily's unofficial closing party for the SBC Summit North America. And yeah, we're closing a really busy few days from New Jersey and New York. And there's been so much to see. There's been so many great discussions, so many great speakers, so many fantastic networking opportunities. It's really been an exciting few days and a brilliant conference. And I'm joined by Isadora Marcante from, I hope I pronounced your name right there, Isadora. You did, you did perfectly.

from our SPC Latam team who's been on the ground at the conference and yeah, we're gonna discuss what's been going on, but first a word from our sponsor OptiMove, the number one CRM marketing solution for the iGaming market. 56 % of the EGR powers 50 personalized player experiences with OptiMove and as a special offer OptiMove is offering new clients a free first month when they buy OptiMove. For more information and claim the free month,

go to uptomove .com slash SBC. Links will also be left in the podcast episode description. Thanks Isadora and thanks to Up To Move of course. And yeah, we're gonna do our very best Isadora to recap what's been a really busy few days. Yeah, let's get into it. What have you, in terms of conference sessions, what have you really enjoyed? Anything stand out to you? One thing I should mention is that I got really happy when I saw that we had...

a session called Boom in Brazil to talk about the potential and the expectations towards this market. It was really interesting because we had very key people there and Martin Leca was also there in the stage, who knows a lot about the Brazilian market, even though he's not Brazilian or from the Latin American region. So it was really nice to see how many companies, like American companies and Canadian companies as well, that are here attending the event.

are interested in entering the market, but also don't know exactly what's going to happen because we're still waiting for the law ordinances to be published. So it's like a gray area still for them, but there's an interest. And I guess there are a lot of lessons that can be learned as well because, you know, it wasn't that long ago that the US was a new market. And, yeah, I guess there are a lot of lessons to be learned as the Brazilian market opens up.

podcasts (02:23.758)
Definitely. I think smart people learn from other people's mistakes. So if we can get the best lessons from the like Latin American countries such as the US, Canada, Mexico, and then we know as well what Colombia is doing, what Chile is doing and everything, which is really interesting. And right now to see like what Summit North America is doing by putting out.

the Brazilian market as well in a North America conference show is really great. But it's still like, it's a very mysterious path for a lot of American companies and Canadian companies because we don't really know what's going to happen next. We know the license figures that they have to pay. We know the GGR, how much players will have to pay as well to the government, but we don't know much more than that. We're still waiting for another eight law ordinances to be published until...

the end by the end of July. So I well but it's nice as well. Like I said before like they show interest. We just need to to know exactly what they what they can do there. So in order to be able OK they are going to open offices in Brazil that is important for the market. And the appetite for I gaming in Brazil like online gaming what's the appetite there. There is it looking in terms of frameworks that open up and sort of states that.

or regions or states in Brazil that kind of embrace iGaming. How are we looking? Are you optimistic that a good number will? Well, in the regulation signed by Lula last year, it is included in the regulation online games. They don't mention online casinos, but the definition they give to online games is exactly the definition of the game that you find in an online casino. So it's a bit a tricky moment right now because we don't really...

know what they're going to do because the Brazilian government put together everything in only one regulation like sports betting, lotteries and online games. But right now they are discussing in the Congress as well like land -based casinos. Will they allow land -based casinos to operate in the whole territory? And we know that the majority of the revenue in Brazil from the companies that are operating in Brazil come from online games.

podcasts (04:49.742)
not exactly from sports betting, although sports are, although football especially, but like sports betting in general is a very high topic in Brazil and people really do bet. But online games are, they are very appealing and is the most part of the revenue for these companies. That was one of the things, to bring it back to North America, that was one of the things that I really noticed yesterday, a real theme of discussion was how the land base...

casino sector, which is obviously quite well established in many parts here, can work with the iGaming sector and how we can avoid the iGaming sector cannibalizing, you know, ask more states, hopefully open up to iGaming, how we can avoid the iGaming sector cannibalizing the land -based sector and how the two can combine and bring together an omnichannel experience. It's such a fascinating discussion and...

I think it's one that is kind of echoed around the world, you know, not isolating the land -based sector as more people go digital, you know, allowing them to complement each other. And yeah, somebody made the analogy in the iGaming track for the case for more iGaming is that, you know, just because Uber Eats exists and you can order food from a restaurant.

whilst you're sat at home in your pyjamas doesn't mean people don't go to restaurants anymore. The two are very different experiences and they kind of need to work in tandem and both thrive and the frameworks need to complement that. So that was a really fascinating discussion on the iGaming track yesterday. Also very interesting and a massive, massive kudos to Kelly Weaver. I thought she put together a fantastic track on tribal gaming.

and the tribes and how that sector can continue to thrive. I'll be perfectly honest, that's a European, my knowledge of tribal gaming and not even necessarily my knowledge, but my understanding of tribal gaming and quite its significance was a little lacking. So that track was incredibly enlightening. It was fantastic to hear how they want to work.

podcasts (07:14.478)
and what needs to happen for tribes to kind of work with operators. And yeah, for that, it's about building bridges, right? It's about, and yeah, a really good track there. Any other tracks that stood out to you or panels that stood out to you? Yeah, like we were talking about the tribal gaming and it's funny because it's really niche, but at the same time I've been to the...

to the panel, the human trafficking panel and the work they do to prevent these things to happen and to, and if it's happening to get the people and to stop what's happening, it's a very sensitive and problematic topic. And it was a really, really, although short, but really good session because even though it's like a tribal gaming session in Brazil, once the land -based casinos are...

legalized because they will eventually if not now one day they will we have human trafficking problems in Brazil as well a very big problem so we could learn so much before it's even happened you know to prevent even like not like to get them in the act but to prevent that from happening once land -based casinos are legalized in Brazil because we know it's like a very facilitating

way for people to do human trafficking. So it was really interesting. And you raise an important point actually that the tribes operate at a different, largely different tax code to the operators, the corporation operators that come into states. And that is because the money that is made by tribes doesn't go to stakeholders. It goes on things like roads and it goes back into the community, the work they do is...

is absolutely fantastic. And I know a panel that you did miss out on or an event you did miss out on while you were here that I was lucky enough to to get in early for because it was absolutely unsurprisingly packed to the rafters was the keynote of Dan Marino. yes, I missed it. His keynote, his interview with Dylan Slaney because Dylan did a fantastic job there. But you missed out on that one. They didn't let me in. It was but it was completely packed. So.

podcasts (09:36.142)
It was sad for me, but it was good for the event. I wanted to pay tribute to the keynote that he did and the job he did alongside Dylan. The work he does with his foundation as well and he got a chance to kind of promote that to the audience. I think it will be promoted later on at the event as well at the closing party. But what a brilliant keynote. Just talking about leadership, talking a little bit about Ace Ventura as well. I know he was in that film.

He was very versatile, really good stories, great anecdotes, and even threw the ball into the crowd as well, which was a nice touch. I think a lot of people had a moment there to really cherish and to really remember. So, a fantastic keynote from him. I'm going to watch that later. That's because he's Connect+. Definitely worth watching on Connect+. Let's just talk a little bit about New York. Obviously, we've spoken about the event, but I wanted to ask you about how you...

you felt in New York, in New Jersey? How has it been in the US? And from a tourist, talk with a tourist hat on, have you got a chance to see the city at all? And a first time tourist, it's my first time in New York. wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, I'm really happy. It's exactly like I thought it was going to be. Like everybody just told me that before. Like when you go to New York, you think you're in a movie because it looks exactly like in the movies. And I felt like that. It's a very nice city, it's a very vibrant city.

full of life, full of different types of people. I feel like everyone in the world is here. Like we have a little piece of every country here. And it's been amazing. On Monday when I arrived, I arrived very early, Monday morning, and I met with Lumo Ringo, which is our VP relationships for La Tamp. And she's like a New York expert. That's how I like to go. She knows a lot. So,

It was really nice. She took me to the Rockefeller Center. She took me to the Central Station after getting into like a normal station, which like tripped me out a little bit. I thought London tubes were bad, but like here it's a bit worse than that. It's quite scary for not used to it because I don't take subway in Brazil. So it's just like, it's really different, a very different experience, but I need to experience that.

podcasts (11:57.87)
And so we went to the Central Station as well. It was really good. We went to Times Square, which is nice. Incredible. It's like the life that that like square piece in the middle of New York has is just amazing. It's full of life and energy. So but I'm loving it. Like so far I'm really looking forward for tonight's closing party. Yeah, it's going to be spectacular. It's going to be spectacular. Yeah. Ready at the Red Bull Arena.

it was great, right? Red Bull Arena. Yes, it was awesome. It was really nice. These experiences are always good, like in the stadiums like we did in Miami. The Miami Dolphins are now here in the Red Bull Arena. It was fantastic and I'm really looking forward to tonight. Such a unique stadium as well, such a unique sporting experience. Very interesting. They even let us kind of go into the changing rooms and stuff. Yeah, a really fascinating look into an MLS team.

Enjoyed being on the pitch, kicking some ball as well. yeah. Loved it, didn't I? I thought I could do like, I mean, I told people from my team that I wasn't very good and I just could confirm that when I was on the pitch, like I was terrible, seriously. You're Brazilian, I thought you were born good at football. No, I'm bad. Lou was great. Sue was awesome. Really? Yeah, she was really into the game. And I was like, Jesus, I'm so bad. I can't even like touch the ball. I have no coordination at all.

but it was really, really fun. It was really nice to have this field experience and see how big a pitch is. Yeah, it's way bigger than... Yeah, it's really way bigger than you think it is when you're there, but it was awesome. Amazing. And to bring it back to sports, we've had a couple of sports panels today that I kind of wanted to pay tribute to that have been brilliant. We had the discussion around data.

Such an interesting topic, how that's going to evolve, how leagues are going to utilize their data, the relationship between leagues, data operators as well. Such a nuanced market, it's going to be vitally important and data is going to continue taking on a really important role as I'm sure you'll see in Brazil too. And the other one about league partnerships.

podcasts (14:15.566)
really interesting about the media and the marketing that will drive player engagement. Great to hear from Better Media too, I can't think of his name, sorry. But we had somebody from Better Media speaking and he was talking about the impact Jake Paul has had on them, how they no longer are partnerships through leagues or clubs. Obviously, he thinks they go through creators in order to engage the creators, fans and

Yeah, some really good star -studded big -name panels that have provided some great insight. And also, from my tourist perspective, it's been great to be in New York while the Knicks have been winning. They are fanatic about their sports teams in New York. And yeah, joining him on the panel with Better Media, talking about league partnerships, was, you know, we had somebody from the WNBA. I think it's...

really encouraging and important how serious they take women's sports here. You know, they really put a spotlight on women's sports. We had the Women's World Cup panel as well. Obviously, that's going to be a massive event. And when the Women's World Cup comes around and they really, they really utilise the last World Cup as a showpiece occasion and occasion to bolster the platform for operators, right? Yeah, no, definitely. Definitely. I,

I believe that investing in women's football, I mean like every single sport, but football is more like a thing. Especially soccer. Soccer, sorry guys. Investing in soccer, it's women's soccer. It's such a big thing, especially like in Latin America. I'm going to say it's something that we're really passionate about. Like women love soccer. They love sports. So to have gaming and

sports betting focused on women as well is a very important thing, not just for inclusion, but it's not for inclusion actually, it's just to look at this side of the business as well. And it helps bring a new audience to sports books as well. Exactly, because it's part of the business, it's not something that it's outside and we're going to put in forcibly. 100 % yeah. It's something that it's part of, we just need to look at it. And it's driven by the stars of the game, we had somebody talking earlier about the...

podcasts (16:39.63)
We've had lots of discussions actually this week about Caitlin Clark, the WNBA and how she is just driving a surge in WNBA engagement and subsequently off the back of that, you know, is bringing a new audience to sportsbooks and bringing new commercial prospects for the WNBA. But we are in the US and we have spoken about soccer or football. Obviously, it's been a big period for US soccer because of the arrival of Lionel Messi.

But they've got to utilise that now into the 2026 World Cup, which is here. That is a really massive chance to boost the MLS and to boost soccer in this whole region, right?

No, definitely. I agree 100 % with you. It's something that we need to look for and we need to be ready for it. It's not just like when the time comes, we need to be ahead of it so we can take a good advantage of this in a good way, of course. And I mean, if Lumo Ringo were here, she would be like all about it because she loves Messi. I mean, like he's Argentinian. It is fascinating to see how much he has just rhythmically grown for football and that whole area.

well in Miami it's crazy to see. He's an important character for football like not only in Latin America but right now in North America as well so yeah. And it helps that he's delivering the goods he has come here and he is firing on all cylinders. Admittedly it's you know probably a level below what he was playing at in La Liga or in Europe but he has just been firing on all cylinders he's been scoring so many goals has been producing the highlight moment.

He's such a character. Definitely.

podcasts (18:51.088)
focused content there, a real, gonna be another real hub of activity. I can't wait for that one. And also all roads very much lead to Lisbon. How excited are you for Lisbon Isadora? I'm really excited, really, really excited. I wish I could go to Malta as well. I lived there for a while, a couple of years ago, so it has a very special...

It's a special place for me. It's a special country for my life, but Lisbon is Not only me but like in not only SPC but everyone that I've talked to they're very excited for Lisbon not only because it's going to be a bigger event than we used to do in Barcelona, but it's going to be global so it's for every single market out there which is awesome. I've heard people here in North America talking about their excitement for Lisbon. It's really going to bring everyone together.

and I think it was a perfect choice for the CD. for sure, those level of conversations where you get all aspects in all corners of the globe coming together are vital for the evolution of the industry. So yeah, be sure to check out the LATAM content on SBC Noticias, the North American content on SBC Americas and the iGaming content, especially as we approach next week in the Summit in Malta on casino beats and slot beats. But thanks ever so much for your time.

time and I hope you had a great week and if you're going I hope you enjoyed the closing party and yeah there aren't too many sore heads in the morning.