BiS SiGMA South America 2026

Mariana Kannebley, Marketing Director at TQJ:

When we look at the legacy and history of the brand we’re in, we need to take that as a pillar for the future, so that we can communicate with people responsibly.

The Silvio Santos Group represents one of Brazil’s most established media ecosystems, with deep-rooted audience trust built through decades of television leadership. TQJ is the group’s betting operator, bringing the mainstream media public to the betting ecosystem.  

Guilherme Figueiredo:

If it were just a lack of education, it would be easier. The problem is that the industry spent years poorly educating or not educating the consumer, advertising in the wrong ways, irresponsibly. Much of the negative repercussions of the betting sector in Brazil come from this past, and the major image crisis we have stems from it.

Leonardo Benites: 

Betano took the lead by allowing advertising on Big Brother, saying my market is well-positioned and can be promoted alongside other sectors.

Given Big Brother’s position as a major cultural and advertising platform in Brazil, its integration signals growing acceptance of betting brands in mainstream media.

When asked what is missing in legal structures to make the boundaries between operator and consumer clearer, Udo Seckelmann replied:

We need to think about the international market and try to adapt their best practices. We could understand how to interpret data and studies from abroad. We are in the process of educating and it’s important to address that advertising is a great way to educate the population.

Vitor Hugo (Legal Director, CONAR) said:

It is important to look at communication regulators and understand that they are partners and something positive, not a problem. In relation to the betting market when it comes to advertising, there is still much to improve and much to grow.

CONAR is Brazil’s national advertising self-regulatory body and plays a key role in overseeing ethical standards in marketing and communication. 

The comment reflects how the industry should view regulation not as a barrier, but as a necessary framework to support sustainable growth and more responsible advertising practices.

Omori:

Internationally, people usually have dinner at hotels; in Brazil, people go out to dinner. With a sports bar, the hotel also attracts people who are not guests and generates revenue, in addition to creating a connection and experience.

Tauszig:

Naming rights can transform a bar into an asset. It becomes an additional revenue stream and a platform for media, acquisition and relationship building. This is the key link for the sports bar, turning a hotel customer journey into a gambler.

Mauricio Santos:

When an athlete signs an agreement with a betting company, they also share their story, effort and achievements with that brand. The player must always promote responsible gaming.

Paulo Sergio Ferruz brings attention to the often-overlooked role of betting in supporting less visible areas of sport.

What many bettors don't realize is that every real they wager also supports important social issues related to sports, especially other activities that wouldn't receive significant funding otherwise. The money has always been in Serie A football, but Paralympic championships, for example, needs this support.

Commander Regino Barros:

I feel that the Brazilian market is still in the early stages of this sector. What was once seen as wrong is now emblazoned on the shirts of the main Brazilian football teams. Where there's money, there's power. The money has changed hands, and those hands need to be prepared for great social responsibilities, and this started in sports but has broken through the boundaries of sport.

Fellipe Fraga:

The easiest way for operators to reach people was through sports, as it's a great Brazilian passion. That’s how operators were brought into discussion.

Fábio Tibéria (VBet) reflects on ongoing industry concerns around regulatory stability, with operators calling for clearer frameworks and more consistent Government engagement to support long-term investment. 

Investment requires security and today we are facing uncertainty in Brazil. We are seeing constant changes in the rules. What we want now is to understand what kind of concrete support the Government can offer. We need direct communication with the government that shows growth and provides an economic projection. This legal security needs to be more clearly demonstrated and implemented.

Senator Irajá Silvestre: 

This sector is Brazil's greatest sleeping industry. 😴 The tourism industry has enormous potential that is far less than what we are exploring. We have been in this legal limbo for 80 years and have had 34 years of constant debate on this project in the national congress. This identity crisis that the sector has been experiencing is because the numbers that were previously hidden are coming to light and showing the impact of the sector on the lives of Brazilians, with the legalization of the online sector.

Meanwhile, Vinicius Lummertz reflects on the issues that prevent the legalization of land-based casinos in the country...

The paradox of Brazil, of Latin America in general, almost a magical realism, is that even discussion was not allowed due to a moral issue. It's something that exists in all capitalist countries in the world, except Muslim ones, and here we had a moral wall that prevented us from seeing the economic dimension that would measure people's place.

Carlos Cardama hits us with an early home truth:

Regulating online betting is part of the equation, but the country's biggest challenge is structuring a more comprehensive model. Brazil is transitioning from a potential market to an expanding market.

It's time for day two - we're back!!

That wraps up Global Gaming Insider's day one coverage at SiGMA - but fear not Layla Victoria will be back for day 2!

Recapping our day one coverage with a quickfire Q&A..

Who was your favourite speaker?

Layla: Ana Bárbara Teles

What was the best panel of the day?

Layla: The VIP-focused panel, which stood out for personalisation and the real influence of VIP strategies.

What was your biggest takeaway point of the day?

Layla: The sense that regulation is already making a tangible impact, with more progress made in tackling the illegal market in one regulated year than in decades of ignoring its existence.

Michelle Ramalho Cardoso:

It is important that there is a cooperation agreement and that we act proactively; we don't need to wait for an investigation into match-fixing, but rather act before it happens.

When asked what actions could help combat match-fixing, Caio Porto Ferreira said:

Integrity is a system that involves federations, institutions and companies both on and off the field. We are all committed to the same goal: a transparent and honest football ecosystem. The police have zero tolerance for manipulation of results. We have the support of technology and compliance companies, along with a collaborative process involving various institutions, for this purpose.

Plínio Lemos Jorge announces new ANJL educational platform for athletes to combat betting fraud.

We will now launch an educational platform for starting athletes, so they understand that match-fixing is not a joke, but a crime. The platform will start next month, in partnership with Sportradar and the Ministry of Sports, so that we can transform this image of the market, which needs to be rebuilt every day.

Cala Dualib:

We are in a World Cup year, a post-regulation milestone for the national betting sector, so we need to analyze how it will work. We will have a shared responsibility with integrity bodies so that we can protect the integrity of the sport.

Plinio Lemos Jorge:

This is an important year for consolidation, with security and responsibility, and any operator that doesn't have something in its platform structure that provides this security to the bettor will hardly be able to stay in the market.

Lucimara Batista dos Reis:

Brazil has scale and the legacy, in both successes and failures, of other international jurisdictions. Now, Brazilian regulators need to be open-minded and understand that the Brazilian market, despite operating differently from others, can operate in a way that makes this market viable. The market has brought a lot to Malta, and I've seen it develop there. We need to understand that balance exists on both the positive and negative sides, and it's a matter of time until it matures in Brazil.

Ana Barbara Teixeira:

In one year of a regulated market, much more has been accomplished than in 100 years of unregulated gambling in Brazil. Although we are still reaching the affordability point of the market, in one year of legal gambling, we have managed to do much more against the illegal market than when we pretended it didn’t exist.

Robert Zammit reflected on how Brazil is reaching a pivotal moment in its development, particularly when viewed against more mature international jurisdictions.

Brazil is in the right time to find its balance. The regulation is growing and the market is expanding.

Macorin continues: 

It's an unfair competition: the illegal operator doesn't follow the rules, doesn't consider responsible gaming, doesn't care if the player is underage and doesn't care about the consumer. Unlike the legal operators, who are part of the system which prevents gambling problems and practices responsible gaming. 

 

Our rules are made with the consumer's protection in mind and, when the consumer goes to the illegal operator, we lose sight of how to protect that consumer.

We at SPA are committed to seeking penalties that are fair and rational.

 

The commitment agreement cannot be seen as a factor that weakens the sanction; it increases efficiency. The objective is not to punish for the sake of punishing.

 

Regulating means establishing rules, monitoring means verifying, but sanctioning means showing that the system works and generating trust, and trust is the most important asset of any regulated market.

I wonder if Fortune Tiger will come up in some of our panels today. Speaking of panels...

Next up was the ‘Mental Health and Responsible Gambling’ discussion, with Leandro Pamplona (BKP Advogados), Marcus Vinícius de Almeida (Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul), Cristiano Costa (EBAC), Thiago Iusim (Betshield) and Pablo Wosniacki (Lottopar). Here, panellists discussed more about how the sector is approaching player protection through regulation, mental health support and early intervention strategies.

Naim Simao (Playtech): 

We have to provide experiences in real life, engage and have moments that they’ll remember forever and link to your company. For example, tickets to see a football game, concerts, anything that’ll make them see how valuable they are for the company.

Vitor Fonseca (Rei do Pitaco) discusses deep player profiling, where granular personal insights are used to shape more tailored and effective VIP strategies.

The key requirement in Brazil to attract VIPs is understanding everything about the player: their life, their family, and then I’ll understand if I can be the product that will work for this player.

Just how invasive is this profiling, though, and could this lead to any RG considerations?

William Bonalume (Open Gaming), discusses industry emphasis on highly personalized, experience-led strategies, where exclusivity and human interaction are positioned as key drivers of VIP retention.

The VIP wants to feel exclusive. We focus on building the product after finding the VIP formula. How are we going to bring experience from this? You start to build micro-journeys in your project so the player feels like they’re exclusive. Exclusive customer service, with real people, not AI. They are high level and they want to feel high level.

Plinio Lemos Jorge adds:

It's been a year of work, but it feels like we've been working for 15. We need to publicize the effective actions taken by the regulated associations.

Giovanni Rocco:

The illegal market and organized crime are one and the same: it’s less about gambling and more about financial crime.

Barbara Teles adds:

Associations are increasingly emerging to advance the issues that matter. The sector is constantly evolving, and we need to be prepared for the upcoming election year. The Government can no longer turn a blind eye to the revenue that comes from the betting sector. A very big challenge we face is communicating this to other sectors and also to the Government.

Fabio Macorin, from Brazil's Ministry of Finance:

The SPA is working on four different fronts against the illegal betting market: the cyber front, where we identify illegal sites and block them in partnership with Anatel and ANJL; also in the cyber aspect, we have systems with implemented intelligence to visualize not only illegal sites but also the payment methods used.

Then comes the financial front: we have a laboratory that identifies the payment methods used in the illegal market, reinforced by law. And we have the advertising front with the help of the digital council, through which we have a reporting channel, and the last front is regulation itself.