Online sportsbooks market potential enhanced in Latin America

2011-09-07

Reading time 1:42 min

(Argentina).- Latin America has been living in recent years an increment in the use of Internet. Laura Guillot, online gambling consultant, put it this way: “Latin America is a market with a great potential for the gambling and online betting industry. Some reports reveal that Internet games of chance could generate more than us$ 150 billion in the whole region”.

However, there are issues such as the use of Internet, that are holding back this important market that leaves big incomes in taxes if there is a proper regulation. And that regulation, according to Guillot, “is still very incipient”.

Guillermo Gabella, President of the Latin American Games of Chance Association (ALAJA), joins that opinion. The legislation is rather ambiguous in this sense because “online betting is not specifically forbidden in Latin America, but it is not allowed, either”.

The trend, as it has occurred in the US, could result in the prohibition. However, putting the example of the US, Guillot rejects this option because “it could not avoid citizens to bet in gaming platforms from other international operators. It is obvious that if players are not presented an attractive regulated office it is sure that they will start playing in pages in the black market that, in many cases, do not count with any type of control or guarantees”.

Money from players seeking for alternatives in other countries, with a prohibitionist legislation, would harm an incipient market in Latin America. According to data brought by Guillot, Costa Rica leads the gaming market and the Internet betting market, with us$ 14,500 billion a year. There are also important the results of Brazil, where more than us$ 7 billion a year are generated, or Argentina, the third booming territory, with a collection of us$ 4,5 billion.

So far, lotteries, bingos and casinos are leaders compared to sportsbooks and other types of betting. “The online gaming market in Latin America is determined by cultural factors of each country, such as the passion of Chilean citizens by poker or the taste of Argentine people for bingo”, assures the gambling consultant.

The development of the online betting market will have to wait for the moment. Latin America is still in the process of implantation of Internet. According to data brought by Gabella, there are currently 60 million users. “For example, Argentina passed from 1 million users in March 2000 to more than 10,320,000 in June 2006. Chile counts with more than 3,100,000 users, Puerto Rico brings 600,000 and Uruguay more than 400,000”, he assured.