Regulation was one of the workshop’s highlights, with Ingrid Alvarado Lopez, from Colombia’s gambling regulatory body – Coljuegos – detailing the regulatory process and underlining the importance for any market to be strongly regulated. Alvarado Lopez commented on the success of the legislative framework that Colombia has adopted, and how this has had a positive impact in the local industry’s exponential growth throughout the past year.

Fried further indicated the importance for operators to have good knowledge about the stratification of the local market, which is still composed of circa 80% retail. He stated that the dominance of brick and mortar shops has initially proved to be quite a challenge for operators to expand into the online channels with operators not having the adequate knowledge on how to shift their activities to the digital mediums. 

Fried also stated that it is fundamental for operators to put their players at the center of their business model. “While broad similarities exist between betting markets across the world, if you’re going to make it big in LATAM you have to know the differences, whether they be practical, such as language and culture, or subtler, such as gambling preferences and domestic approaches,” stated Fried.

“It is useless trying to expand into the LatAm market by copying a formula that has proved to be successful in other markets, such as Europe. Each market is driven by its own set of unique elements. Each and every aspect of the user experience – be it the payment gateways, the sports market offered, the online casino games provided – must reflect the local scenario and preferences. Even the technology itself that platform providers such as BtoBet grant to operators must be adapted to the local scenario, taking into consideration various factors such as the hardware readily available on the market, and the internet and smartphone penetration.”

Watch Alessandro Fried’s views regarding the LatAm market during the panel.