## Fostering a Long-Term Sports Wagering Industry in Brazil
Brazil possesses a vast football enthusiast base, making its market a possible contender for one of the largest worldwide. Francesco Rodano, Playtech’s Chief Policy Officer, emphasizes the significance of operators guaranteeing a secure and sustainable launch, explaining to iGB how they’re navigating the initial phase of intricate regulations.
Following four years of endeavor, the execution and opening of the Brazilian sports wagering market is anticipated later this year, with sustainability being of paramount importance.
Francesco Rodano, Playtech’s Chief Policy Officer, believes the market holds enormous potential. “The scale of the extensive unregulated gambling market and the Brazilian passion for sports indicate it has the potential to become one of the biggest regulated markets globally,” he declared.
At Playtech, we’re prepared to contribute, whether it’s forming strategic collaborations or joint enterprises with top operators in local markets, as we’ve done in Mexico with Caliente and in Colombia with Wplay, or providing our offerings to local and global licensees of any scale.
**Ethical Gaming**
However, fresh possibilities also bring new hazards, and Rodano believes that incorporating sustainability into Brazilian sports betting from the outset is essential.
He believes that the market opening will make operators acutely aware of how to safeguard customers, which aligns with broader industry trends. Ethical gaming focuses on maintaining a balance between finances and gaming to prevent continued play after losses.
Operators now need to not only recognize potential risks but also take action by establishing limits to prevent harm to players’ mental and financial well-being.
“Even if only a small number of players are negatively impacted by gambling, it’s crucial to identify them at the earliest stage, and it’s a moral responsibility,” he explained.
“There are numerous ways to interact with at-risk players, from generic emails to personal interviews conducted by safe gambling experts or even psychologists. All operators should be able to activate the most suitable interventions based on each player’s risk level. At Playtech, we have developed a first-level interaction tool that has proven to be highly valuable.”
In our study, artificial intelligence-driven customized interventions were twenty-one times more successful at encouraging accountable gaming habits, like setting spending limits, than conventional generic email responsible gambling campaigns.
Artificial Intelligence Technology
Historically, gambling companies have used straightforward scoring cards based on fundamental thresholds, such as deposit or wager amounts and time spent playing. This one-size-fits-all approach has a fundamental flaw: it tends to treat all players equally, while at Playtech, they recognize that “human behavior is far more intricate and varied.”
“Online gambling provides us with access to a wealth of personal information that was previously unavailable,” Rodano said. “And it’s not just gambling data, which is already very detailed. Given how we are ‘connected’, there are many other sources. I know VIP managers check players’ activity on social media, for example, if they suspect something is happening.”
“Machine learning presents a valuable opportunity to try and ‘decode’ people’s behavior. For instance, in 2019, an AI poker bot developed by Facebook and Carnegie Mellon University defeated some of the world’s top professional players. Utilizing AI, the software developed an understanding of human behavior, enabling it to outperform the players.”
Playtech is adopting this technology through its safer gambling analytics platform BetBuddy.
This program aims to “interpret” player conduct to spot players at risk early on. It depends on machine learning models that process data for each player, giving up to 70 behavioral indicators to match them with patterns of known harmed players (for instance, players who frequently wager but ultimately decide to self-exclude or declare they have been harmed).
“These models are enhanced by ‘expert rules’ to further refine the data-driven method, and most importantly, they are fully transparent. The list of individual markers driving risk allows operators to tailor interventions, which is more effective than traditional generic interactions,” Rodano explained.
“We are happy to see that our research shows that 76% of Brazilians support the use of artificial intelligence by gambling companies to detect potential at-risk players.
Potential Dangers
Playtech recently conducted a tailored consumer survey in four Latin American nations, including Brazil, to explore key issues related to responsible gambling in each region. In Brazil, 56% of respondents said they had already gambled, despite the lack of regulation. Most of them advocated for better local rules and more information about responsible and sustainable gaming tools.
The survey revealed that Brazilians’ biggest concern when gambling is losing all their funds due to addiction.
In addition to these, there are also dangers of deception, game manipulation, missed prize payouts, privacy violations, and escalating funding of criminal operations.
Rodano points out that since the legal market is not yet open, many local participants interact with betting companies from overseas and tax-free locations where no consumer protection measures are in place.
Brazil’s ruling has regulated sports wagering, but online gambling remains unregulated. Rodano stresses that other forms of gambling should follow suit.
Therefore, he emphasizes that the regulatory structure needs to encompass casino games and popular forms of sports betting sought by consumers, otherwise there is little motivation to transition to the legal side of the nation.
“This could be a risk factor for Brazil, as Law 846/2018 only provides for the regulation of sports betting, while casino games (which account for nearly half of global gambling revenue) will remain prohibited for the time being, leaving Brazilian players with no legal alternative to their offshore versions.”
Collaborating, not competing
“We believe that a gambling regulatory framework can only be effective when all three parties – the government, players, and the gambling industry – achieve their respective objectives,” Rodano stated.
He went on to say that suppliers play a neutral role.
We have collaborated with numerous B2C operators, who frequently engage in intense rivalry with one another. Nevertheless, this competition does not hinder our capacity to dedicate time and resources to safer gambling research and development.
Our duty is essentially twofold. On one side, we aim to develop safer and more sustainable gambling solutions that are grounded in evidence and rigorously evaluated, focusing on the well-being of individual players rather than a generic approach to the entire player population, as we are all unique.
On the other side, we need to educate policymakers and industry colleagues about the potential of this approach.
He highlighted that greater cooperation across the industry is vital for this work to be successful. Rodano acknowledged that for a market to thrive, it’s not solely about competition that operators need to concentrate on – it necessitates collaboration across the entire gambling industry to be victorious.
“Numerous machine learning programs and trials are being conducted by different operators, but these findings are often not shared with others,” he clarified. “Protecting everyone’s health and enhancing well-being should be a collective, industry-wide endeavor, not a means to gain a potential competitive edge.
“By sharing our triumphs, particularly our setbacks, we can learn together and assist the gambling industry in becoming sustainable over the long term.”
Playtech is dedicated to responsible gaming in Brazil, mirroring their commitment in Europe. They’ve been engaging with regulatory bodies globally, and many are now mandating behavioral assessments and tailored support for players. This is already a reality in countries like the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, and Sweden. Playtech is prepared to collaborate with Brazilian authorities to ensure the nation’s legal gambling sector is secure, enduring, and prosperous for the future.