Brazil Paraná Lottery Authorizes Betting House
Author:
Megan Butler
In Brazil, moves are being made now that sports betting has gotten the official government go-ahead. One such move is the integration of sports betting platforms into existing lottery operations. This is exactly the case for the Paraná Lottery (Lottopar), which has recently welcomed its fourth betting house into the fold. The Paraná Lottery works specifically for the state of Paraná, a state in southern Brazil.
A gray and yellow modern building over the water in Parana, Brazil.
?Cassiano Psomas/Unsplash
Four sportsbooks now operate legally in the state of Paraná
Lottopar has recently announced its welcoming of sports betting house Pixbet, which has been granted a license to offer sports betting in the state. This license fee has already garnered the equivalent of $4.1 million USD for the Brazilian state of Paraná.
Pixbet is not the only approved sports betting platform operating in the southern state. They are joining three other companies: Gaev Concessionária de Loterias do Paraná (Daruma Sam), WLC Paraná and BETPR. BETPR was given its license in September 2023.
Pixbet and the lottery celebrated the business deal in a ceremony in mid November. The event featured a Pixbet representative sharing a large ceremonial check valued for $1 million USD to represent the permit money.
Director of operations for Lottopar Fabio Veiga spoke on the occasion, offering insight about the forthcoming relationship between the lottery and these various betting agencies. He explained that before starting operations, all of those companies that have been welcomed in Paraná must pass necessary tests. They will have to endure a kind of trial period before real operations begin in earnest.
Veiga spoke positively about the process, promising that it is necessary in order to ensure a good experience for customers at the end of the day. The process is in place not only to vet the companies but to ensure that customers have security while placing their bets — an important difference now that betting is regulated in Brazil.
Furthermore, all of the lottery’s operations will be centralized and monitored from one platform from now on, which is an exciting move towards elevated transparency and security in the industry. Veiga also explained that this will give Lottopar greater control which is essential now that it has expanded into another betting vertical.
Lottopar’s president Daniel Romanowski also spoke on the occasion of the celebratory event. He agreed that the state shows a high level of interest for sports betting, which warrants the number of betting houses now in operation there. Not only does this give bettors more choice and sidestep the issue of a monopoly, it also will hopefully create more security for the industry overall as sportsbooks become entirely regulated.
Pixbet’s partner, Diomar Tadeu Dantas de Farias, also spoke about the deal and said that it is something everyone involved can be proud of. He also spoke to the growth it represents for the area in terms of jobs and income, as well as of course entertainment for those who like to bet and now have even more options to do so.
One of the first major changes regarding this transition into regulated online platforms is the presence of a state seal which will be visible on all licensed betting sites and in brick-and-mortar locations. The hope is that bettors will be able to easily distinguish between safe betting sites and sites that may compromise their data or otherwise scam them.
Equipment must also bear this seal in order to show that it has been vetted by Lottopar directly. It follows that gaming equipment that lack the proper seals could raise suspicions and stand a chance of being seized and destroyed if investigations reveal illegal betting at play.
