It has been more than nine months since the launch of your consulting firm, through which you have also taken on a new role as an advisor in the industry. What is your evaluation of the work done during this time? How do you personally feel in this new role, analyzing the sector and advising various clients?
Yes, it has been a big change, mainly because, until now, I had always worked on a single project, and I was responsible for everything, good and bad. Mostly the bad. Today, the biggest difference is that I am dedicated exclusively to the strategic side: business development, marketing, positioning, relationships, connecting the dots. That is the part I enjoy the most, the part I always enjoyed and the part I did best. It is interesting to be able to focus fully on something I used to have very little time for. On the other hand, being so used to having my hands in the mud every day, it is sometimes a challenge to give a recommendation or propose a plan and have the client decide not to execute it, or to do it differently. That is their right. It is part of the new role, but it is something I am still getting used to.
What do European gaming companies still not understand about Latin America, and how is Atucha Strategic Advisory helping them overcome these gaps to achieve success in the region?
I am not sure it is so much that Europeans do not understand LatAm. I think there is a cultural gap on both sides, and it is not only the language. It is the way people relate to each other, the timing, the level of documentation expected in a KYC, for example. The fact that a company in LatAm does not have the level of documentation that an American or European public company is used to does not mean the company is in bad shape or that things are done badly. It means that level of documentation and record keeping is simply not the norm here. In LatAm, there have always been other ways of giving comfort to investors, to companies and also to our political relationships. I think it is often about finding a middle ground, and I feel I am able to help as an interpreter between the two sides.
In addition to forging alliances with various companies, Atucha Strategic Advisory has made significant progress in two Latin American markets: Brazil, by bringing on Eliane Nunes as Head of Revenue & Commercial Growth, and Mexico, with the recent agreement with Antonio Lara through his firm MentorBet. Why did you decide to focus specifically on these markets, and what results do you expect to achieve?
Well, the idea is to practice what we preach. Although I believe I understand the Brazilian and Mexican markets quite well, the reality is that I will never understand them as well as someone who has been in the local day to day forever. Eliane has many years in the Brazilian market, she knows all the players and the idiosyncrasies very well, and she is proving to be of enormous value in helping us keep growing and in helping our clients grow in Brazil. Something similar is happening with Antonio Lara and MentorBet: Antonio has been at the front line of online in Mexico for many years. On top of that, I have known both of them for a long time, I appreciate them personally and I feel very comfortable working with them. As for the markets, I think Argentina, Mexico and Brazil are the three most interesting ones to start building a dedicated presence in LatAm. The intention is to keep growing with local people in each market, so that we grow with local understanding and local presence. I always say that Latin America is not one thing; it is a mosaic of differences, and I myself need the most localized collaboration possible in each place in order to move forward the right way.
Based on your knowledge and experience, in what aspects do you see the gaming industry stagnating or lacking a clear direction? How are new technologies forcing companies to innovate to avoid falling behind their competitors?
I think there are several areas where we need to improve as an industry. One is how we communicate our contribution to society to the general public. Usually, everything gambling gets blamed for has more to do with unregulated gambling than with regulated gambling. Regulated gambling behaves very responsibly: it pays taxes, creates jobs, and takes care of players. But I feel we do not communicate that well. Every time a problem appears that has nothing to do with regulated gambling, the industry is left fairly defenseless in front of public opinion. In that context, it is difficult for any politician to publicly distinguish between regulated gambling, unregulated gambling, and responsible gambling. Anyone who speaks in favor of regulated gambling risks criticism from voters, from the Church and from certain bodies for which the simplest thing is to condemn gambling without making any distinctions. I also believe the industry is having to evolve towards less mainstream verticals, such as bingo and virtual sports. It is no coincidence that I have chosen to represent companies of that kind: I think these are under exploited verticals that still have a lot to give. This connects with another major problem the industry is facing, which is the rise in acquisition and marketing costs. Today, everything the industry does towards less contested verticals, and everything it does to invest its resources more intelligently matters. The days of throwing a lot of money at marketing because revenue and conversions would make up for it are over. Today, every cent invested in marketing, affiliates or sponsorships needs a clear and measured return. Besides, the growth of artificial intelligence working alongside human intelligence is undeniable. Every company needs to work out where humans are needed and put its people there, as well as use artificial intelligence to help those people do their jobs better.
What ambitious goals does your company have for the remainder of 2026 and for 2027?
The spirit of ASA is to work with not too many companies and, in general, with exclusivity per vertical. Today, we work exclusively in bingo with End2End, in virtual sports with Kiron and in marketing attribution with Immensity.ai. We are about to announce a couple of new projects we are getting involved in. The intention is to reach five or six verticals over the next six months. We are also growing the team. Although we have a strategic view of the product, marketing and market entry level, at the end of the day, we are very heavily involved in the sales funnel of every company we work with. We will be judged on whether our client bills more or bills less. We are very clear about that. Our focus is purely commercial, always within a strategy of positioning, finding the angle, marketing, compliance and the right corporate structure for our markets.