Genius Sports discusses integrity in sports betting markets at Juegos Miami 2017

Tom Russell, General Counsel at Genius Sports, said, "Regulated markets provide a far safer, more transparent environment for sports betting than unregulated markets as they offer greater transparency and resources to protect consumers.

"Regulating sports betting allows both governments and sporting bodies to better monitor the activity, helping to preserve the integrity of sporting events and therefore maintaining public trust in sports.

"Integrity is one of our core values. Without sports integrity, there is no transparency in the betting industry. Proper regulation is therefore essential fora newly-regulated market to be a success and achieve the fiscal and social goals set by government."

Illegal sports betting is an undeniable reality and keeping it in the shadows benefits only a few. "We should all work toward providing a legal framework that satisfies the needs of the market in a regulated and controlled environment," Russell stated.

According to David Foster, Public Affairs Manager at Paddy Power, cooperation between regulators and bookmakers is vital. "Latin America is still in its early stages of development, and it should look at the success stories in Europe to face the challenges facing the sports betting industry."

"The quicker we act, the better we can provide the market with safer and more transparent solutions," he commented.

Coljuegos' Liliana Viveros praised the efforts of the regulator saying Colombia was the first Latin American country to regulate online sports betting and added, "Spain and UK should serve as models for sports betting regulation across Latin America."

As Brazil gets ready to legalize gambling, Luis Felipe Maia, founding lawyer of FYMSA, commented, "Brazilian public officials who are currently debating the bills to legalize gambling in the country need to understand that it is the the industry itself who is most concerned about preserving transparency in sports betting. We are aware the industry has little chance of surviving without high-standards and principles."

CONCACAF's Head of Legal Affairs and MemberAssociations, Marco Leal, concluded by saying, "We need to educate players on the risks of taking part in illegal gambling activities that damage the reputation of sports."