iGaming Daily

00:00
No more champagne and the fireworks are through. Just me and you for the very first iGaming Daily episode of 2025 around the Latin American market. I am Fernando Nott, Senior Business Journalist for SBC Noticias and your host for the next 20 minutes. As usual, I am not alone. Straight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, SBC Noticias editor Lucia de Bosch. Gando, how are you Lu?

00:29
Great introduction. I'm very good. A new year, new beginning. Exactly. All the honking. Honk for the new year, everybody. And she's back. She's back. Buenos Aires born, but Ohio's own. SBCC's VP. Relationships, LATAM. The mother of all leads. The striker of deals, Lucia Amorino. How are you, Lu?

00:58
Hi guys, I'm very excited about the honking as well. Yeah, everyone is so excited. It's been a while. Yeah, it's been a while since you were last on iGaming Daily. And everyone is so excited, they just can't stop honking. But let's just give another honk for OptiMove, the number one CRE marketing solution for the iGaming market and sponsor of iGaming Daily. As a special offer, OptiMove are offering new clients a free first month when they buy OptiMove.

01:27
For more information and claim the free month, go to optimum.com slash SBC. We will leave of course links in the podcast episode description so you can find them more easily, but 2025 already 2025. Yeah. Everyone. I'm so excited. Yeah. I did say con for optimal. Um, but before we begin 2025, we certainly need to go back and go through what.

01:54
happened in 2024 because there was a lot going on. So let's first go very briefly over Brazil. So we leave the specifics for the Brazilian team to discuss, but it was a very big year for iGaming and sports betting in the country with the formal licenses coming into force this January 1st. After a very, very busy debate all across 2024, new regulations coming into force, new ordinances published, even a new regulator being created earlier.

02:24
this year, last year. So, Lu, what are your thoughts about what happened in Brazil? And I say Lu Mourinho. Yeah, you got me confused for a second. Well, I mean, working with the operators, it's just like insane to see how many they've received a provisional license first and now all the ones that received the actual license and the process, how fast, I mean, obviously not fast because...

02:54
We go back to 2018 and even before then with all the debates, but how fast in my head it looks like from the point where they got the first approval and now launching operations. It's crazy. Obviously, we will see even more movement this month and in the next couple of months with these companies that got the first license, they will be able to operate.

03:22
two more besides the main one. I'm just, I'm wondering how many international companies that haven't been part of the conversation in the past will be moving forward, whether they will want to acquire those licenses if they will want to partner. I think it's like a very, very exciting period, even more than when we actually knew that the market was gonna be a thing. Yeah, Lula da Silva passed the bill on December 30th, 2023. We were all year long.

03:52
working the specifics. And I say we, like I was in the Brazilian government for some reason. But in February, the SPA was created, the regulator for the gaming industry. And we also had in March, the 5th through the 7th, we had our very own first SBC Summit, Rio. That was a great time we had in Brazil with all the Brazilian industry people. And this year,

04:20
We have the upcoming SBC Summit Rio 2025 from February 25th to the 27th in Rio Centro, a different venue than last year, but still in Rio de Janeiro. Lugando, are you excited about SBC Summit Rio? Yes, I'm very excited about this new addition. We are more than tripling the number of attendees, but also...

04:45
The quality and quantity of the offerings that SBC is preparing, the conference is going to be so good. Nobody would like to miss any of the sessions. We are preparing so much stuff for the event and of course as SBC is renowned for its networking event, we are preparing some exciting activities to keep

05:09
marking our presence in the country. So, yes. Yeah, well, we'll continue to speak about Brazil in the specific episode about Brazil. You should probably be able to listen to it very soon. But let's go now to Argentina, to our very own country, or Argentina, as we would say, where the biggest news came late in the 2024 year.

05:36
As the deputies chamber passed a bill to ban advertising, it's actually a bill to protect the underage from gambling. So it has like a very noble motive behind it, like a very noble justification, but it also sets a very, very big hit on the industry because it sets a blanket ban on advertising for the gaming industry, bans ads.

06:03
on TV, on sports, on individual athletes, on teams, organizations, tournaments, on stadiums, on the streets, internet influencers, streaming potentially to be created platforms, things that don't exist, things that exist that may not exist anymore in the future, sponsorships, bands welcome bonuses, limits, payment methods, creates a nationwide registry for self-exclusion, which is a very, very good initiative if you ask me, but it's certainly a big hit for...

06:31
the industry. Now let's go back to Lu Mourinho. What do you think about this? I don't know if everyone will agree with me. I do think we need something in place. I just wish that they had more data, more information about everything and how the operators work. I don't know if it's a failure from the operator side that they don't provide this information because they're leveraging from the fact that we don't have anything in place.

07:00
I think we do need something, not just to, I don't know, like stop what they're doing, but to make the industry have a better image because sure, it's regulated, we know how it works, but like generally speaking, when you watch the news, like the local news, TV and everything in the country, it's not the same. Like they just go ahead and say whatever they want with no information.

07:28
And I think the operators and the regulators could work a little bit better on that. So the public could actually see what else they're doing. It's not just about the betting. It's about how they help the communities, the responsible gaming measures and everything in between. So I do think the conversation is needed, but I wish we could do without all the BS from some people who just want to be part of the show and not actually help.

07:57
things move forward on all sides, not just the gambling side, but like miners, responsible gaming, bonuses, whatever it is that they discuss. I just want them to be more informed than they are before they speak. I agree. And you being based in Buenos Aires, you just said you agree, but what's the perception in general in the country? And of course, I want to hear what you think about this specific bill.

08:23
Well, it's very easy to be against the industry, especially when you don't have that information Lou was mentioning. So the public reaction, of course, seeing the pandemic of teenage, especially boys, betting on this side, you can understand why society is against gambling. But we ourselves as a society do have a...

08:52
deeper conversation about it. And I think it's important also noticing that payment methods are allowing teenagers just move money around on the internet. So maybe we could start by debating about this, right? Because how our teenagers have access to a great amount.

09:22
of money and then placing it in different sites, betting sites and whatever? Yeah, definitely. The payment side of things is a very important topic. And actually this bill addresses it. It limits payment methods only to debit and to money available in those digital wallets that are allowed to operate in the sports betting platforms.

09:52
But right now the industry does have a few payment methods and I'm talking about the regulated industry that may make easier for people to move money and to get the money into their accounts. So probably the industry needs to look within and see what they can improve to prevent this type of pushes of this very massive blanket ban pushes from being...

10:19
pushed, let's say. Sorry for repeating myself, but what I think is very important about this bill is that it's a federal bill, it's rich, it's nationwide, which would potentially go against the constitution of Argentina that does not give the National Congress the authority to regulate about gaming. So that ends up being the responsibility of the provinces.

10:49
which is why we have seen that every province has passed its own legislation, has their own regulator. And even we have seen the province of Cordoba amend their own legislation in the same direction this general bill is going because they have approved restrictions to ads, not a blanket ban, but they have restricted to the hour time.

11:17
because you know that at 10 p.m. and I think it's until 6 a.m. you can show pretty much everything on TV and between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. is like the protected time for the underage. So they can't display gambling advertising on those hours. And also biometrics are required, which is also another very, I think, important tool

11:46
could be enforced in every regulated market. Because when you go and register in a gaming platform, you get asked for your ID, and pretty much anyone can just get someone's ID and input their data and just their information and just play pretending to be someone else. So biometrics would prevent that by just asking the user to take a selfie or something like that.

12:15
before each session. So it would be very more protective of the vulnerable audiences like underage or even people with gambling addiction. But on a brighter note, the Lotteries Association of Argentina has named its first female president, that's Ida Lopez, the president of the regulator of Mendoza. So I think it's a very important...

12:44
news to see, to have in the country where, and in an industry that's pretty much male dominated, Lou Mourinho, what do you think? Yeah, I mean, if we create a list of all the female CEOs, female presidents, it won't be a long list. I do think that things are changing, which is very, very, very nice to see.

13:12
We know sometimes that South America and Latin America in general takes some time to work with these things. Like I wouldn't say like diversity because we have some of the most diverse countries in the region. But just from the industry itself, seeing a woman being president of of such an important entity, I think that's fantastic. And plus, we we really like we know.

13:41
Ida from our events in the past and she's more than capable of doing an excellent job there. Yeah, I definitely agree. She's the first female president in 54 years of history since the creation of the State Lottery Association of Argentina. So we wish all the best for Ida, of course. She has already been doing a great job there, as well as in the Regulator of Mendoza. But now, let's take a...

14:10
I think it's a six hour flight, maybe four hour flight, depending on where in the country you are. And let's go to Peru, which enforced new relation that was passed in 2023 and actually even appointed a new regulator. That's unrelated one to another, but it's between a year of change to Peru. I think it has set new rules for the market. They have updated the rules, which is very important because

14:40
of course, the technology keeps moving forward, right? Like it's the same, the problem that Mexico has. They have a very old bill and they are always saying, hey, we need to update this bill because it's very old and technology has changed. The gaming industry has changed. So Peru has stepped forward and said, hey, we are changing our bill, even though it was a pretty new bill. And so they have enforced a new regulation for the market with new licenses and on the side,

15:08
They also changed the head of the directorate of games, casinos and machines, which is now Yuri Guerra Padilla. So a year of change, like I said, for Peru. And of course, a lot of companies asking for their licenses there and a very bright future for this market. Can I give a?

15:33
Shout out to Yuri because I've been talking to some of my Peruvian companies and like the operators and in this process of changing the regulation and them having to update some things to be able to in some cases retain the license or obtain it, they've highlighted how well they're working with the regulator, how responsive they are, how the communication has like it's been never like they've never seen something like this.

16:01
how the regulator is willing to work with them throughout the process, sharing feedback, even with like, even the smaller documents, the more insignificant one on a great scheme of things. They said that the Peruvian regulator right now, it's doing something that they've never seen before, even for the region. So shout out to Peru for working on this. Yeah, well, the industry in Peru was, it wasn't prohibited.

16:30
But now it's regulated, especially the online gaming and sports betting. So it's very good news. The operators actually had a demand after the regulation was approved about taxing also international operators, international sites. And that was also taken care of. So we are...

16:58
expecting Peru to be one of the leading markets here in Latam. Yeah, so are international companies like we saw last year when Cirsa actually acquired Apuesta Total, which was a major move and speaks for itself about the expectations around the Peruvian market, which has now allowed as well foreign companies to sign up to register and pay taxes there. So the country also trying to make it easier for the industry to...

17:26
to operate in the country. But let's go now to neighbor Chile, which had also very major news with the collusion investigation against Enjoy, Dreams and Marina Del Sol, which actually is ongoing. So we have to see where that leads in the near future. And of course, you may be wondering what happened with the iGamey build in Chile. Well, it got...

17:53
a bit stalled and it's an election year for Chile. So we don't expect to see any progress in the future or in the near future. We probably won't be seeing any progress around it. And that's what Carlos Baeza, which is the lawyer for the iGaming operators in Chile, said during SBC Summit Latin America, another very big success from SBC. And a very big shout out to Carlos Baeza, who is always a...

18:23
in our events and sharing his wisdom. Pretty much all around Chile, but also we have to remember that Colombia proposed a tax rate, a tax rate in the tax reform by the government. So that may be a bit harmful for the industry as well. Like we were speaking about Argentina and the gambling advertising ban, which would hurt the industry.

18:52
But I think when you raise taxes and raise just over what any industry can pay, that can be a bit dangerous for the sustainability of any industry, not only the gaming market, but also Colombia changing a bit with Betano, for example, launching locally. So probably the most established market in the region.

19:18
But of course you can read all about this in svcnoticias.com and subscribe to our newsletter to get all this in directly in your email inbox. Of course there has been a lot going around Latin America, but girls I want you to give some closing notes to this briefing podcast or this summary podcast about 2024. Why don't you, Lugando, go first.

19:46
Well, 2025 will be an exciting year for Latam. Brazil is now full on its capacity, so we will see how it develops. From SBC, we are really happy to host SBC Summit Rio and SBC Summit Americas, where Latam will be highly included. We promised that, so we're excited.

20:13
exciting to keep debating about all of these and keep reporting every update on the markets from SBC, SBC Noticias especially. Thank you guys for this review. And you, Mourinho? I am very excited about everything that's happening in Latam. Yeah, I mean, my resolution is joining you guys more often, if allowed.

20:41
Because there's so many things happening that sometimes it's kind of difficult to do it, but I really, really enjoy it. Yeah, we're definitely going to have Lu Mourinho more often in this podcast. They are honking for Lu Mourinho out there. So in my opinion, yeah, it's going to be a very big year for the industry, especially because of Brazil launching its definite form. Like Freezer from Dragon Ball Z said, this is not even my final form, where it seems like Brazil is finally reaching its final form.

21:11
And yeah, I can't wait to see how the market develops from now on. And so if you want to keep updated with how this market, the Brazilian and the rest of the market develops, please make sure you are subscribed to both SBC Noticias Newsletter and SBC Noticias Brasil Newsletter. But that has been all for today's iGaming Daily's episode, which you should also subscribe to.

21:39
to keep up to date. If you don't like reading, like most people don't like reading or some people don't like reading and they rather just listen to our beautiful voices, they deliver the information to you directly. So make sure you subscribe to the iGaming Daily Podcast as well. And that has been all for today's episode. I wish you all a very nice 2025 and I'll see you in the next one.