SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Football is ingrained in Brazil’s history, heritage and culture. Ricardo Pisani, Business Development Manager at Genius Sports, states that engaging Brazil’s football audiences will be a challenge for bookmakers like no other…
No other country on earth has won more World Cups than Brazil. Brazilians have a saying that while basketball and volleyball are the country’s top sports, football is a religion. So, at last, after years of political wrangling, Brazilian football is set become one of the biggest winners of the country’s legalisation of sports betting. Already, over 130 operators have submitted “official expressions of interest” with the Ministry of Economy for licensing approval and gain first mover advantage in a newly regulated $5 billion market.
The approval of Bill 3,626 by the Chamber of Deputies has already ignited a surge of interest in licensing applications, a boom in advertising and team sponsorship as operators prepare themselves to battle for market share.
But for what is set to become an intensely competitive market, which operators are best positioned for success? As we’ve seen in other thriving betting markets around the world, regulation allows for a more level playing field where the quality of the product, content and customer experience separate the winners from the losers.
Leveraging the Brazilian cult of football
Pele, Zico, Socrates, Romario and Ronaldinho are just some of the immortal legends of Brazilian football that capture the nation’s love of the beautiful game.
As we’ve seen in the U.S. with the NFL and the Premier League in the UK market, the ”must have” nature of Brazilian football over other sports means it will inevitably dominate betting activity in the newly regulated market. Operators with a first-class football offering will be at a distinct strategic advantage against their competitors. This means being able to offer a huge range of pre-match and in-play markets on top tier football competitions in Brazil and worldwide, powered by the highest quality data.
Not only will this enable operators to tap into Brazil’s obsession with all things football but also the enduring appeal the sport has as a world class betting product. Football is a highly unpredictable game with low scoring which tends to lead to more results going against the odds than in other sports. The sport’s simplicity, global popularity and natural structure provide all the key ingredients for a highly engaging live betting product which will only grow as the Brazilian market matures.
The complete football offering
Throughout the last six years, official data has become central to the growth of the US betting market. Directly approved and sanctioned by the relevant league or federation, official data is the fastest, most accurate source of information on live matches.
Its core value is that on football and lots of other sports, it enables operators to keep their markets open for longer (for example immediately after a goal) to drive more turnover on every event. Official data also enables operators to offer a broader range of team and player markets as well as powering innovative products and offerings.
At Genius Sports, we have the most comprehensive football offering in the market. This includes the premium competitions run by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) including Série A, Série B, and Paulista competitions. Brazilian operators looking to set the pace in the newly regulated market can also access official data, captured in-venue from the leading football leagues in Europe and Latin America including the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Argentine Primera División, Dimayor Colombia and Liga MX.
We can now also offer premium in-play odds through our LiveTrading solution on La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1, creating an incredible library of football competitions for operators to access alongside top-tier Brazilian basketball, volleyball and futsal.
The race to lead the regulated Brazilian market is on and by offering a premium football product to their customers, operators can gain the edge they need to beat the competition.
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