The first SBC Summit Americas begins this Tuesday, the 13th, at the Broward County Convention Center, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the United States.
Angelo Alberoni, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of A2FBR , will be present at the event as a speaker on the panel ‘ Brazil 2025: a surge in licensing and lessons so far ‘.
Alberoni will discuss recent regulatory changes in the Brazilian market, providing practical examples and lessons from other companies that have already gone through – or will soon go through – the licensing process.
Along with Alberoni, James Kilsby , chief analyst at VIXIO, Luiz Felipe Maia , partner at Maia Yoshiyasu Advogados, Guilherme Buso , vice president for Brazil at Genius Sports, Natalia Nogues , founder of the Association of Women in the iGaming Industry (AMIG) and CEO of Control F5, Marco Pequeno , Country Manager for Brazil at Amusnet, and moderator Leandro Pamplona , founding partner at Bonetti, Krugen & Pamplona Advogados, will be present.
To preview the topics that will be covered in the panel discussion, SBC Notícias Brasil spoke with Alberoni before the SBC Summit Americas.
SBC Notícias Brasil: How important is it to participate in SBC Summit Americas 2025? As a speaker, what is your opinion about discussing industry-related topics with other experts, such as in the panel you will be present at?
Angelo Alberoni: Participating in SBC Summit Americas 2025 again as a panelist is a huge pleasure.
SBC Summit Americas is the only event that connects all of America, from Latin America to North America, and I have had the privilege of attending every edition in recent years.
The topics are always interesting, and the debate between professionals with vast experience in the market – in our case, the Brazilian market – is crucial for us to evolve from an internal and external point of view – in the latter case, attracting, increasingly, foreign investors to the national scene.
SBC Notícias Brasil: How can operators meet Brazil’s regulatory requirements while also embarking on growth opportunities to stand out from competitors?
Angelo Alberoni: The Brazilian regulatory environment, despite bringing many tools from more mature markets, has its peculiarities, mainly involving consumer issues.
Consumer law in Brazil is recognized worldwide as one of the most protective, which may come as a bit of a surprise for a completely new sector in the country, both for brands and for the judiciary itself.
Therefore, one of the points that brands should focus on, in addition to the product, is the quality of customer service – from the experience on the platform to the final service provided by the ombudsman. Differentiated customer service can better retain your customers – and retention, in a highly competitive market, can make a difference in your Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) at the end of the month.
SBC Notícias Brasil: Over the years, in your perception, is the tendency for the number of licensed companies to grow, decrease or remain stable and why would this happen?
Angelo Alberoni: It’s a question with a few possible answers. The Brazilian market has enormous potential for growth, and big brands haven’t arrived here yet.
At this early stage of such a large market, it is natural that we have a large number of brands, but only a few will actually have economic relevance. This is mainly because leading brands are already familiar with a regulated environment in more mature markets, while new brands have difficulty moving forward with new rules.
One factor that will directly influence the size of the market will be legal certainty. Brazil is known for its legal instability in certain areas, and iGaming, being something very new, will still need time to mature in its regulatory environment, especially in terms of taxation.
Therefore, if the country maintains a stable economy and respects the established rules, the tendency is for brands to consolidate and new companies to emerge in the coming years.
SBC Notícias Brasil: What aspects still need to be improved in relation to the evolving Brazilian regulatory scenario and what points did the Brazilian government get right in the licensing process?
Angelo Alberoni: It is still too early to point out flaws and successes in the Brazilian regulatory scenario. The creation of the Brazilian legal framework, with the arrival of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance and the participation of the sector through its associations, helped to open the market in an acceptable way, without any major surprises.
The biggest obstacle for brands that were already here was the migration which, with unique requirements, such as facial recognition, caused a delay in transferring customers to the new ‘.bet.br’ domain.
Another factor that still causes some confusion is the distribution of amounts to be distributed to certain Associations/Institutions brought by the norm, leaving many brands without a clear direction, even opting for judicial deposit for fear of incurring some illegality.
However, overall, the regulatory process went satisfactorily and the market welcomed the Brazilian legal framework for iGaming, with the exception of firmer measures against the illegal market.
For the next steps, the brands that paid the fees and collect taxes hope that the regulatory authorities will act more jointly to block pirated sites, as these can undermine the success of the Brazilian market.
SBC Notícias Brasil: In your opinion, how has the Brazilian industry behaved since the regulated market came into effect? Is Brazil moving in the right direction?
Angelo Alberoni : I believe so. There are some points that we need to correct, such as the direct participation of football clubs in the operation of fixed-odds betting companies.
With the latest scandals involving active football players, it is necessary for the regulatory authority, together with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) , to create clear rules that prohibit the participation of sports professionals as brand ambassadors and, mainly, that determine that sports entities cannot give names to brands and participate, directly or indirectly, in their core activities.
Integrity is the main driving force behind sports activity, and when it is questioned, the entire chain that feeds on it collapses. In other countries, such as Spain, England and Italy, their leagues prohibit athletes from being ambassadors for fixed-odds betting brands.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Code of Conduct itself vetoed the possibility of clubs participating directly in the activity involving fixed-odds sports betting.
Source: https://sbcnoticias.com/br/sbc-summit-americas-angelo-alberoni-entrevista/
