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BRAZIL SET FOR BETTING BOOM
F
or almost a century, Brazil’s colossal population has been subjected to restrictive gambling rules, limiting gaming activity to a handful of modest pursuits. Native players could only engage in state-operated lottery draws, low-value scratch cards, and the odd horse racing wager at approved venues. However, since
2018, a new era of gambling liberalisation has been slowly ushered in. Indeed, the Brazilian government’s landmark decision to overturn decades-old prohibitive sports betting legislation has catalysed this movement. Four years later, the Samba nation stands on the precipice of introducing further verticals to its suite of gambling options, including the establishment of casino games at licensed locations. Nevertheless, it’s the sports wagering sector that seems set for another huge shot in the arm. Since the end of the last decade, potential suitors have been reluctant to become part of Brazil’s sports betting
INFINITY GAMING
landscape. Given the lack of control and due diligence surrounding the marketplace’s compliance procedures, operators have steered clear, fearful of the legal risks that attach themselves to any unvetted environment. Nevertheless, many of the industry’s biggest players have descended on Latin America in recent times; and Brazil is no different. Flutter and Entain both enjoy huge commercial returns from their respective Brazilian enterprises. In 2021, Entain reported that it had nearly doubled its revenue return on the previous year, and was the chief contributor to funds generated outside its traditional markets of Europe, Australia and the UK. Peter Jackson, the CEO of Irish-based gaming giant Flutter, has recently declared Brazil as ‘a very significant opportunity’, and hopes to continue the firm’s current
