By Roman Frymer, editor at G&M News, and Damian Martinez, journalist at G&M News.
After iGaming and sports betting regulation in Brazil, what are your expectations for this territory? How do you evaluate future business opportunities under the current gaming scene?
We expect a lot from this market. I’m a big fan of regulations and of all the things that will come after everything is in place. The first benefit will be that the same rules will apply to everyone. Secondly, we will be able to use advanced technologies, like mobile and social applications, which are not available now on the market. Parimatch has outstanding technology, probably one of the best Android and iOS applications in the industry. It will also be very important that now all the companies in the sector can pay taxes. There wasn’t a legal framework to pay taxes in Brazil until now. This will mean a huge cash injection for the Government, and, with this money, authorities will be able to create a lot of additional jobs and improve the quality of living for the average Brazilian population.
When did Growe started operating in Brazil? Why did your company decide to advance in sponsorship agreements with Brazilian football teams?
We launched our business in Brazil exactly one year ago. We started working in the country in 2023 with our partnership with the football club Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro. Football is very important for Brazil as it is the number one sport in the country by far. We consider Brazil as a single sport country because 90% of the turnover comes from football. Our idea was to build a community around our brand, and we wanted to sign a deal with a club that had the same values as us: a will to grow, be aggressive and achieve a great result on the market. Botafogo is one of those clubs, so we were (and are) very happy with this partnership. As a matter of fact, Botafogo was in the top 10 clubs in 2022 and, last year, they finished on the fifth position in the Brazilian tournament so they will be playing the Copa Libertadores in 2024. Together with Botafogo, we were able to build great brand awareness all over Brazil.
What is your assessment of the country’s players? What activities is the company planning in order to engage with them?
Parimatch is not just sponsoring the football clubs. We are also working a lot with the fan base. We’re doing user activations. For example, one of our biggest projects involved a brand awareness strategy. It was a kit of Botafogo with the native colors of Parimatch. We want bettors to enjoy our platform and entertain them. I consider betting as another type of entertainment, and we are ready to bring them the best experience on the market with our great platform, that we’ll be improving to provide an even better experience for them.
What are the main advantages of the company’s platform. What elements differentiate it from the competition?
Definitively, the speed of the platform. We are ready for any high load that occurs because we are a global operator. We know how to run the business in Asia, Africa, and now in Latin America. Another advantage is our unique mobile applications that, in the nearest future, will bring the greatest experience you can ever imagine for our users in Brazil.
What will be the next steps of Growe in Brazil?
We will be announcing another partnership with a Brazilian football. It’s a big one. Then, of course, our main goal is to obtain the license for Brazil. We are among the first 20 companies that will get it. I personally have spent a lot of time to be able to get this license as fast as possible. We will also keep on working hard with the current sponsorship deals that we have (Botafogo and the Stock Car Pro Series). Finally, we are considering expanding to other countries in Latin America.