Affiliate firm Better Collective has recruited Terence Gargantini as country director for Brazil to strengthen the group’s presence in South American markets.
Gargantini brings extensive experience to the position, having previously served as the country director for Brazil and Latam at ElevenSports.com, a multi-sports streaming platform under the DAZN Group.
He also worked as business development director at FanHero, an end-to-end video platform solution for influencers and content creators.
Moreover, Gargantini spent 11 years at Nike, where he led local Brazilian and international sports marketing strategies.
Simon Hovmand-Stilling, CEO of Better Collective South America, expressed confidence in Gargantini’s ability to forge beneficial partnerships and leverage his local network and experience to solidify Better Collective’s presence in South America.
“Localisation will be absolutely key for Better Collective in South America,” he said. “We are already building a strong understanding of the local sports fans so we can be more relevant for advertisers, both local and international ones that seek to establish a presence in this region.
“That is why profiles like Terence Gargantini are instrumental in our continued successful expansion,” Hovmand-Stilling concluded.
Latam growth
Gargantini acknowledged the challenges ahead and expressed his commitment to leading Better Collective’s South American strategy and operations.
He said he would also collaborate on business development efforts to “enhance Better Collective’s foothold in this exciting region.”
In Q1 2023, Better Collective reported significant growth in the Latin American market.
The company’s ‘Europe and Rest of World’ business segment, which includes Latin American revenue, experienced 40% year-on-year growth, generating record revenue of €51m.
Better Collective attributed this success in part to its established foundation of traditional affiliation in the Latam region and various local media partnerships.
Better Collective described this as its “blueprint for success”, which it developed in European markets and also applies in North America.
At the time, Better Collective also emphasised the similarities between the Latam and European markets, citing a preference for football and the presence of diverse, independent cultures in the region.
Therefore, the firm said, Gargantini’s extensive experience working with prominent South American sports teams and athletes (including the Brazilian National football team, state regional federations, and clubs such as Flamengo and Corinthians) positions him as an asset to Better Collective’s expansion efforts in South America.
Betsson has received an online gaming licence in the province of Cordoba in Argentina, which is the third licence for the operator in the country.
The new licence, granted to Betsson and its partner Casino de Victoria, is one out of eight licences that have been awarded by the local regulator Loteria de Cordoba.
The cooperation between Betsson and Casino de Victoria, a land-based operator in Argentina and part of Grupo Mautone, started back in 2019.
The two companies joined forces to work on the applications for online gaming licences in the province of Buenos Aires and in the City of Buenos Aires, both of which have been granted and operations were launched during 2022.
Pontus Lindwall:”When merging their long experience in the Argentinian market with our know-how in online gaming, we can truly reach our ambition of becoming a market leader in this rapidly growing online market.”
Pontus Lindwall, president and CEO of Betsson AB, commented: “We are very pleased to have received a licence to operate in the locally regulated market in the province of Cordoba, together with our partner, Casino de Victoria.
“When merging their long experience in the Argentinian market with our know-how in online gaming, we can truly reach our ambition of becoming a market leader in this rapidly growing online market,” he added.
Nearly 20% of total revenue
In Q3 2022, Betsson’s Latam revenue reached €38.8m, 19% of the operator’s total revenue.
Betsson has been active in Latam since 2008, with a presence in Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico.
In Q3 of last year, all of the countries in the region reported revenue growth compared to the corresponding period in 2021, even though revenue declined sequentially due to a lower sportsbook margin.
In December, the company opened its operational centre in Bogotá, Colombia, to reflect Latam’s key contribution to its revenue.
Betsson expects to report record revenue and EBIT in Q3 driven by high customer activity across the sports betting and casino verticals.
The operator said in a trading update yesterday (6 October) that group revenue is projected to be in the range of €199m-€201m in Q3 2022, which would be the best ever result for Betsson in a single quarter and an increase of some 17-18% from the €170m generated in Q3 2021.
EBIT is forecast to come in between €37.5m and €39m, up from the €31.7m reported in the corresponding quarter last year.
The Stockholm-listed operator said high customer activity in general, combined with a favourable revenue mix and the firm’s scalable business model, had contributed to the increase in EBIT.
Growth in Latin America markets, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has also been identified as contributing to Betsson’s positive performance during the quarter.
In addition, the operator said it benefitted from the early start of the major European football leagues in August, due to the upcoming World Cup in November and December.
In Q2 2022, Betsson already reported all-time high revenue of €186.3m, with growth driven in particular by sportsbook performance in Latam.
In Q2, sportsbook revenue climbed by 22% year-on-year to €61.6m, although casino still provided the bulk of revenue despite coming in relatively flat at €122.2m, up 1%.
Betsson said alongside its latest trading update that sportsbook is becoming ever-more important for the business as a result of investments aimed at strengthening the product in recent years, as well as due to geographical expansion into several new markets.
The preliminary sportsbook margin was 8.3% for the quarter, which is at the same level as in the previous two quarters in 2022, but somewhat higher than the average of the past eight quarters of approximately 7.7%.