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In Peru and Costa Rica there is not only a specific authority to control this activity, in Nicaragua it can be operated by an operator of a physical casino, in Colombia it cannot play those who do not reside in its territory, in Panama it is magazines, not Can play those residing in its territory and in Argentina, each province is a different story, and against the nature of online games, authorizations are restricted to provincial boundaries.
Nevertheless, the massification and legalization of Internet gambling in Latin America is irreversible. It is a constantly expanding market. Those who bet now will be the most benefited because the business is valued by the number of players and for that you have to work hard, both to capture and to retain customers.
Due to my experience in developing this activity in the region, there are four basic areas that entrepreneurs have to evaluate in order to be introduced safely and successfully in this business in Latin America: i) Legal framework, ii) Intellectual property, iii ) Means of payment and processing, and iv) Marketing.
The legal framework is the first aspect that one has to evaluate: one has to carry out research that goes from the essential to the specific. This has to be done by each jurisdiction.
The first question to answer is whether it is prohibited. But also, what is forbidden. There are countries that in a first approximation could be said that the games by Internet are prohibited, for example, Chile or Uruguay. But, prohibition and criminal responsibility are directed at gambling. In other words, not every "betting game" is forbidden. Those gambling games that are not random may not have any prohibitions. Other countries like Peru have specific legal regimes for each game and often the lack of an adequate normative definition makes that a game can be regulated under diverse laws.
For example, at present, online games could be regulated under Peruvian lottery law, casino games and even absolutely free under the simple control of a municipal authorization. Within the assessment of the legal factor, there are also specific issues to be evaluated: there is competent authority, must obtain licenses, such as regulations linked to the prevention of money laundering, consumer protection, registration database. There is also the tax issue, which is considered foreign source income, what is the VAT situation, if there are local taxes, etc.
The second basic area of ââevaluation refers to the elements of intellectual property. Operating an Internet gambling site requires having a domain name, but also registering a service mark and finally - if one is not a manufacturer - a license from the gaming provider. Many entrepreneurs forget the importance of the brand and directly acquire a domain and they put to offer it in a certain jurisdiction. Serious error.
For example, online gaming can be offered in Peru under the "off shore" or "on shore" mode, then, with a domain acquired and offered, the business could already be in progress; But if the domain was not registered as a trademark and it is already registered for another owner, it could oppose and block the game causing a serious damage to the Internet gambling provider, who would have already made significant investments in marketing.
On the other hand, the marks are "territorial", that is to say, they only have value in the jurisdiction where they are inscribed, therefore, if it is thought to offer in several countries it is registered the mark in all. Then the best thing to do is to first choose the site name, then - or at the same time - register the brand and acquire the domain name.
The third fundamental theme in the development of this business is to evaluate the means of payment and its processing. The best is the direct recruitment of players, especially in Latin American countries where people still distrust Internet transactions.
For this, it is necessary to find out if it is possible to open accounts in the main banks of the country. In many places and many of the major banks do not allow open accounts for activities linked to the gaming industry. Colombia and Peru, for example, have suffered greatly from this. It is necessary to evaluate the market for credit cards, electronic wallets and also the companies that provide treasury services. There is no point in a jurisdiction where Internet gaming is legal and where the operator already has registered all its intellectual property if in the end, there are no adequate financial channels for players to make their bets in the most fluid possible.
Finally, and not least the least important - on the contrary, is the one that sustains the business - is the marketing. The great value of internet gaming is by the number of registered users. How do I get and retain more registered users? First, it is necessary to establish whether advertising can be made or how it can be done. Cable, television, advertisements in newspapers and posters on the streets, sponsor in soccer teams or sporting events, hiring of public figures, etc. Customer service policies and customer tracking, use of social networks.
Many believe that the public of the physical casinos is the same as the online casinos, nothing more wrong than it. Marketing policies have to focus on those who belong to Generation X (37-50 years, using Facebook (81%), Google (57%), YouTube (54%) and Twitter (48%); (88%), YouTube (72%), Google (69%), Twitter (59%) and Instagram (34%).
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