The hotly anticipated Brazil market may be less than a year old, but it has quickly evolved and has forced operators and suppliers to adjust to changing player demands. 

Only launched in January, Brazil’s regulated sports betting and online casino sector has developed from players preferring fast, simple games such as crash games – to a much more varied palette of gameplay in more recent months. 

In a chat with SBC News, Sportingtech CEO Tom Ustunel outlined that, on both the casino and sports betting sides of the sector, players are becoming more attuned to the options they have. 

“As the market is maturing, we have noticed that the uptake is becoming more similar to a European market,” Ustunel explained, chatting to SBC News from the SkyBar at SBC Summit 2025. “There’s more breadth in the amount of games they’re playing. Player behaviour at the beginning was really quite basic. Even on sports betting, it was quite targeted to football. 

“But now we’re seeing that people are betting on other events. So as the market matures, our product has to mature too. We need to provide them the choice, whereas, at the beginning, we didn’t need to. A very simplistic product was probably best suited. We’re now noticing that we’re having to build in those additional features that perhaps players in Europe and some of the more mature markets are used to.”

Ustunel’s comments came during a wide ranging conversation about localisation and personalisation, and how the platform provider adjusts its solutions based on the specific requirements of operators and, by extension, players in each market. 

Sportingtech’s platform, in its CEO’s view, is perfectly suited to Latin American markets, though it does also serve other regions such as Europe and Africa. 

The company’s focus on ensuring its platform is tailored for each market has resulted in it servicing its clients to reach top 10 positions in these markets.

He explained: “A lot of that has to do with the personalisation we have built in. What we’re trying to really move to is a world where we give the operator the ability to personalise to their heart’s content. Within the next year, we’ll be at a stage where the operator will be able to design their frontend completely independently of us. 

“Ultimately, that’s where we want to get to because we think that’s going to be the biggest win for them, and that’s going to help them remain competitive in these saturated markets.”

Competitive markets they are – particularly in Brazil, where there are well over 100 brands live. 

With such competition, ensuring that players feel comfortable and familiar with the platform is essential. It is something that Sportingtech is rigorous about in its approach in Brazil with all of its clients. 

Of particular importance is that players feel like they are on a local website. 

“We’ve noticed that even simple things like registered deposit rates are much higher (after personalising), even though there’s not too much personalisation within a registration form,” Ustunel outlined.

“But because the rest of the site is personalised, when players get there, it feels like a Brazilian site. It doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of a European site that’s just been translated. 

Players know it’s localised to them, not just with payments and whatnot, but actually the whole experience end-to-end.”

In typical fashion, the speed of Brazil’s market evolution is for a uniquely Brazilian reason. The enormous sway that influencers have over bettors and players in Brazil, unlike in other jurisdictions, has resulted in player demands changing much faster than elsewhere. 

Ustunel remarked: “I’m going to repeat what some of the operators say in Brazil. One game that’s popular this week might not be next week – it literally can flip overnight. 

“If an influencer picks up a game and starts pushing that you’ll notice the market quickly takes that game up. You don’t see that swing as much in European operators, largely because they’ve been regulated mostly for 10+ years, and Brazil and LatAm are heading that way.”

Localisation in B2B provisions

It isn’t just in player preferences and consumer dynamics that drives Sportingtech’s localised strategy. The firm interweaves localised principles into its operations and aims to be in tune with all its operator partners. 

That’s why the provider opened an office in Sao Paolo last summer, as it aims to meet the needs of all its clients in the region. 

“We are making sure we put people on the ground. We send the team locally to be with the operator because we believe in partnerships, not just in providing software,” Ustunel said. 

This is part of Sportingtech’s two-pronged approach to reach customer satisfaction: by delivering a great product and accompanying it with impeccable service. 

That’s why the firm’s CEO outlined that it will “never have 150+ clients”.

“Our model is different; we would rather pick partners that are going to want to be partners and not just treat us merely as a software provider,” he added. “I think that’s where we want to be to be competitive. So in Brazil, we wouldn’t consider taking on 30+ clients because you then have a conflict of interest. Instead we have a smaller number so we can really focus on getting them in the top 10 – that’s our big aim.”

Laura Main, the company’s Head of Brand, also added that it makes up part of Sportingtech’s ‘white glove’ approach with clients, noting that the relationships, when done properly, are symbiotic. 

“We want to be able to have time for each client,” said Main. “We want to be able to respond when clients need help. We’re available 24/7, 365 days a year and a lot of clients who come from other platforms have told us they don’t get that level of service elsewhere.”

That two-way relationship only works properly, though, if the product is good. That, Ustunel asserted, will always be the priority, but underpinning that with the customer service is also crucial. 

He noted: “Ultimately, if we get them into the top 10 in the market, they are happy. If you can give them a successful product where they can compete against other big operators, ultimately that’s what they want. The minute they cannot compete, we are toast. If we can keep up to date with the latest technology and give them top notch service, they will want to stick with us.”