SBC Magazine Issue 9: Esports future, online shift and Brazil betting soap opera

The future for esports betting, the regulatory soap opera in Brazil, a new COO for LeoVegas and how online gaming can drive the industry’s comeback are just some of the key topics in Issue 9 of SBC Magazine.

Available to view online HERE, we start by analysing Sergey Portnov’s “calculated risk” approach to Parimatch leadership, before reflecting on how Carsten Koerl has guided Sportradar through the crisis.

This is actually one of the few direct mentions for COVID-19, as we look to move the narrative of this magazine beyond the ramifications of this horrible virus.

Working across the US and Latin America (LatAm), we’ve got ‘eyes on the tribes’ (including those of OIGA Executive Director Sheila Morago) before Jan Jones Blackhurst, Caesars board member, discusses Las Vegas’ road to recovery.

This precedes more on the incomplete regulatory jigsaw in Brazil from Suaposta CEO Andre Gelfi, and the spread of illegal activity in Colombia featuring both Evert Montero Cárdenas and Juan B. Pérez Hidalgo – the respective presidents of Fecoljuegos and Coljuegos.

The casino section starts with a number of CEOs discussing gaming as the ‘industry’s lifeline’, including Alex Tomic (SlotsMillion), Alexander Stevendahl (Videoslots) and Ariel Reem (Genesis Group), before an assessment of changing online consumer behaviours – as told by Swintt’s David Mann and GoWild Gaming’s Itai Zak.

This is followed by a roundtable on RTP education, Quanta’s transition to blockchain life portal through the eyes of Harmen Brenninkmeijer and the aforementioned LeoVegas appointment of Mårten Forste – also the subject of the magazine’s worst header (check it out).

The payments section takes us back to four key things we learned about digital currency at the inaugural SBC Digital Summit, featuring Pinnacle’s Head of Payments Isabelle Delisle.

This event was brought into focus once more by marketing’s review of the ‘Gambling in Society’ panel, which included outspoken MP Carolyn Harris‘ views on the industry’s negative media perception.

Of course, we recognise that we are far from free of COVID disruption. Yet, whether you expect the industry’s recovery to be U-shaped, V-shaped or even backwards L-shaped (credit to Gambling.com Group’s Max Bichsel for that one), there is a road to recovery.

We hope that this SBC magazine can provide some pointers for navigating this road to recovery, and whet your appetite for our next set of virtual events, starting with our first ever LatAm focused conference in just two weeks time.