Brazil could be just days away from finally finalizing its regulations for online sports betting. As it reportedly approaches the finish line, Latin American casino operator Enjoy is entering the country’s online gaming space.
Enjoy will arrive in Brazil, but without building any casino or hotel. It will do so virtually, with the launch of EnjoyWin.com, an online betting platform that, it hopes, will be the operator’s new “big” business.
Specifically, EnjoyWin is a virtual platform with table games, slot machines, live casino, video bingo, sports betting and more. This is different, according to Enjoy, from the recreational gaming platform it developed in Chile in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. That platform didn’t allow real-money transactions.
Grabbing Onto The Market
COVID-19 and the lack of ability to operate retail casinos across the globe proved to Enjoy that there was a need for iGaming options. To gauge the potential response, the company launched a free-to-play online casino in Chile. It saw a great response and Enjoy decided to take it to a new level.
For the development of this new business, Enjoy put together a dedicated team based in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is a multidisciplinary group of 15 people with experience in the online gaming industry. Everyone speaks at least three languages, according to Enjoy, which did not reveal the amount of investment to build this project.
Just a year ago, Enjoy officially ended its judicial reorganization, a process that lasted almost two years and implied that its creditors became shareholders. In addition, it finalized the departure of Javier MartÃnez, the firm’s former president. The agreement to avoid bankruptcy was to reduce the level of indebtedness by converting at least 70% of its debt into shares.
Enjoy and Dreams, formerly a rival casino operator, have been negotiating a merger in Chile for more than a year. They still face regulatory hurdles in the country, although are reportedly making progress. Curiously, Dreams has tried to block all efforts to introduce online gaming.
Brazil Close To Sports Betting Launch
The regulation of sports betting in Brazil might be getting closer. Local media reports that the Ministry of Finance has prepared and submitted draft regulations to the government for review.
However, a decision won’t come overnight. President Lula da Silva will have to sign off on the regulations, and that won’t happen until after Brazil’s Carnival ends. The annual festival runs through February 25.
Media outlet BNL Data reports that the text comes from the team of José Francisco Manssur, advisor to the Special Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance. He stated that the regulations are the result of discussions with various entities with a role in the sports and gaming spaces. Among these are the Ministry of Sport, the Central Bank, the Federal Police, the Public Ministry, the Brazilian Soccer Confederation and the Brazilian Olympic Committee.
Although Brazil lawmakers approved sports betting laws four years ago, the executive branch of the government, led by former president Jair Bolsonaro, dragged its feet on approval. With the changing of control of the government, legal and regulated sports betting can finally arrive.
Currently, around 450 bookmakers operate in the country but maintain their headquarters overseas. As a result, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue leaves Brazil each year.
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