Altenar’s Diego Salas: Betting on Flexibility and Growth in Brazil’s $7.5B Market

Altenar at BIS Sigma South America

In this interview, Diego Salas shares insights on the firm’s participation at the event, the evolving opportunities in Brazil, and how innovation and flexibility are shaping the future of sports betting across the region.

“For us, it’s not just about attending another industry event - it’s about being present where the market is actively redefining itself. Brazil alone generated around $7.5 billion in GGR in its first fully regulated year, and more than half of that already comes from sports betting. That tells you everything about where the industry is heading,” Salas said.

“At Altenar, we’ve been quite vocal about one point: too many operators in Latin America still treat sportsbooks as a secondary product," he added. Events like SiGMA give us a platform to challenge that thinking and have more strategic conversations about long-term growth, not just short-term acquisition.

Dynamic experience 

“Very dynamic, and also quite telling," he commented about Altenar experience as exhibitors. "Compared to previous years, the level of maturity in conversations has changed. We’re speaking less about “entering the market” and more about “how to scale efficiently within regulated markets”.

“We had a high volume of meetings, but more importantly, the quality stood out. Operators are asking deeper questions around retention, personalisation, and risk management. That’s exactly where we bring value - not just as a sportsbook provider, but as a long-term partner helping them optimise performance," he affirmed.

When asked about the type of business opportunities or contacts they were able to generate, he answered: 

“A mix of both new market entrants and established regional operators looking to upgrade their sportsbook capabilities.”

“We’re seeing strong demand from operators who already have a casino-led model and now want to rebalance their offering. Given that sports betting already accounts for roughly 55% of GGR in Brazil, that shift is becoming a commercial necessity rather than a strategic option.”

“We’ve also strengthened relationships with local partners: affiliates, platform providers, and data suppliers, which is critical in a market where localisation and speed to market are key success factors.”

Flexibility, a core principle for Altenar

"We focused on features that directly impact engagement and revenue, but more importantly, on how flexible our platform is, because that’s really where Altenar stands out, especially in Latin America.

"Flexibility is not just a product feature for us, it’s a core principle. Operators here have very different needs depending on their market position, regulatory environment, and audience. So for us, it was important to demonstrate not just what we offer, but how we can adapt the product to solve very specific business challenges."

“In terms of solutions, we were talking for example about Bet Cards, which give operators much more creative control over how they promote betting content, and the expansion of player props, powered by real-time data. These are strong engagement drivers, but their real value comes from how easily they can be tailored to each operator’s strategy.”

“We also showcased improvements in cashout and Bet Builder functionality, all designed to be highly configurable. At the end of the day, the goal is simple: to give operators the tools to respond quickly to their users’ behavior and market trends, rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all model.”

Opportunities in Brazil and Latam markets

"Latin America is one of the most exciting growth stories in global sports betting right now. What stands out is the pace of engagement: users are highly responsive to live content and strong sports culture.

"At the same time, the opportunity comes with clear complexity. Regulation is still evolving in many jurisdictions, operator maturity levels vary significantly, and in some cases there is still an overreliance on short-term acquisition strategies rather than long-term product thinking. These are not barriers, but they do require the right approach and the right partners.

“For us, the opportunity is not only in market expansion, but in helping operators build more sustainable engagement models. With stable technology and a flexible strategy, there is still a lot of untapped potential to increase retention, deepen user interaction, and ultimately unlock new levels of growth across the region,” he concluded.