Operator News
US – All eyes on Brazil at packed out Juegos Miami Conference
By Phil - 3 June 2016
With over 55 internationally renowned speakers, the Juegos Miami multi-stream conference programme proved to be one of the central features of the premier Pan Latin America and Caribbean gaming industry event.
The main focus of the learning agenda is on the Pan Lat Am and Caribbean markets with two full days of masterclasses, keynote speakers and sessions on lottery, bingo, casino, street games, sports betting, regulation as well as crime and security for both online and land based verticals.
The first day of the conference opened to a packed room with an inspiring introduction from Marcelo D’Amato, Non-Executive Chairman of Juegos Miami, and was followed by a headline address on the best opportunities in the Latin American region over the next five years.
Juegos Miami’s conference continued through the morning with high-profile thought leaders offering their knowledge gained working in established international gaming markets to Latin America in a series of roundtable discussions and regulatory briefings.
Continuing into the afternoon, the conference remained in demand with Juegos Miami attendees at the BgC Briefing: Brazil – Roadmap to Regulation which set out to report on the conclusions from the 2nd Brazilian Gaming Congress on May 11-12 in Brasilia.
The BgC briefing was added to the Juegos Miami agenda as a reaction to the positive and promising outlook for Brazil shared during the event in Brasilia. Since BgC, major progress has been made around taxation, inspired by the discussions and experiences shared two weeks ago, as reported by Luis Felipe Maia, with Federal Deputy Nelson Marquezelli now proposing the 17 per cent tax on GGR as opposed to the turnover tax, included in the bill before.
Osmar Lopes de Moraes, Brazilian Parliament Ombudsman and key representative from Deputy Marquezelli’s offices, repeated the pledge and determination to create an environment favourable to bringing investment to the country, and gave the timelines of October or November for the passage of the bill through both houses of Congress.
In addition to this progress on taxation, Magnho Jose, President at IGL, emphasised the importance of creating a self regulating environment, without artificial, imposed limits on the number of casinos: to which he concluded it’s important to let the market decide.
Closing the insightful panel was Igor Federal Trafane, President of Brazilian Texas Hold’em Confederation (CBTH), who proposed his opinions about the current legal gaming of skill market and emphasised the opportunity of legalised gambling to tap into Brazilian gamblers who currently travel outside of Brazil to gamble.
Kate Chambers, Managing Director of Clarion’s Gaming Division and part of the team responsible for Juegos Miami, said: “We have said before that we spent a long time talking with the industry to establish what it wanted from a new event, and it’s clear from the popularity on the first day of the event and the desire to participate in our learning and knowledge agenda that we have succeeded in our goals.
“Our teams at Clarion Events and Urban Expositions have spent many hours researching the market and listening to the needs of stakeholders to ensure that the agenda is topical and relevant to the needs of the region and it’s reassuring to have received so much positive feedback on the first day of the conference.
“The decision to make Juegos Miami an invitation only event, with attendance limited to senior decision makers, has allowed us to make the conference agenda more in-depth and focused on specific areas in the region than we otherwise could have. The first day of the conference has been hugely encouraging in line with our plans for the next year’s event and I’m sure our ‘stand-out’ speakers will continue to deliver insightful learning for everybody at this year’s Juegos Miami.”
The opening ceremony was attended by over 400 industry leaders – including top decision makers, key operators, legislators, major buyers and business owners – alongside key representatives from Juegos Miami co-organisers, Clarion Events and Urban Expositions.
Attendees at the ceremony were also invited to register with the Juegos Miami Founders Club, a network of influencers who have helped pioneer the creation of what is poised to become a flagship event, serving the needs of the Pan Latin American and Caribbean gaming industry.
Charles Hiten, Managing Director of Merkur Gaming, was the first industry leader to sign the Juegos Miami Founders Club Register and he said they were excited to be part of such an inspiring event which will have a significant impact on the gaming industry in the region and around the globe.
Merkur were just one of over 15 Juegos Miami Founders to register their support of the event at the opening ceremony and receive a Founders Club badge of honour as well as a specially commissioned G3 South America Regulatory Report which traces how gaming legislation has evolved over the last decade and how policy is shaping up in every jurisdiction in South America.
Kate Chambers added: “The vision was to create a very unique event which would meet the specific needs of this incredibly important and dynamic market and from our first day I believe we’re on track to achieve this. Juegos Miami is set to play a pivotal role to the Pan Latin American and Caribbean gaming industry and we’re immensely grateful to all the people have played a huge part in helping achieve this. We’re proud to mark their support and on behalf of the Juegos Miami team, we wish all of our Founders, exhibitors, speakers and partners a successful Juegos Miami and thank them for their help in navigating the industry to a prosperous and sustainable future. To pledge your support as a founder, come and sign the Juegos Miami Founders Club Register in the registration area throughout the event and receive a badge, the G3 South America Regulatory Report and automatic verification for entry to future events.”
