Estrelabet chief business officer Fellipe Fraga has described the fight against the Brazilian black market as “urgent”, as he stressed the need for a collective pushback against unlicensed firms.
Posting on LinkedIn, the exec suggested that negative headlines generated by the sector in Brazil, specifically around advertising practices, had taken the onus off the black market.
A report from global news broadcaster DW, published yesterday, 18 June, claimed that betting ads as a percentage of those shown pitchside in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A had risen from 28% in 2019 to 60% by 2024.
Brazil’s regulated sports betting and gaming market launched on 1 January, with concerns having been raised in the subsequent six months of the continued prevalence of the black market.
Those concerns were exacerbated earlier this month after the Brazilian government revealed plans to up the GGR tax rate from 12% to 18%, with the move slammed by operators and trade bodies.
Fraga said that since 2018, when sports betting and igaming was legalised in Brazil, albeit without a defined framework, a “regulatory vacuum” had been allowed to form.
However, he insisted that the most significant challenge remains the pushing back against the growing black market.
He said: “Several advertising practices and operations emerged that distorted the image of the sector.
“And this has directly affected companies that operate within the law: those that follow strict rules, comply with tax obligations, promote responsible gambling, combat money laundering and help protect the integrity of sport.
“It is important to say the most serious problems are in illegal operations. They are the ones that facilitate the access of minors, operate without any control or transparency, do not offer any type of support to compulsive people who direct their compulsion to gamble.”
Fraga went on to call stakeholders in Brazil to join forces and focus their collective energies on combatting the offshore sector, claiming that legislation is needed to help in efforts to distort it.
He concluded: “The fight against the illegal market is urgent. Attacking those who follow the rules only weakens revenue, encourages clandestinity and worsens the situation.
“It is necessary to mobilise society and the legislature to focus on the real problem. The fight must be against the illegal. And in this, all of us – sector, government, press and society – need to be on the same side.”
The post Fighting Brazilian black market is paramount, says Estrelabet exec first appeared on EGR Intel.
Fellipe Fraga calls on stakeholders to come together to push back against unlicensed entities, as illegal operators continue to grow despite market being regulated in January
The post Fighting Brazilian black market is paramount, says Estrelabet exec first appeared on EGR Intel.