Simon Westbury, 1xBet: “The biggest challenge for global brands is ensuring the product appeals to the local market”

Following SBC Summit Rio, Simon Westbury, Strategic Advisor at 1xBet, explains how the company is positioning itself in Brazil’s newly regulated market, highlighting localisation strategies, player protection initiatives and the company’s long-term growth vision for Latin America.

Exclusive interview.- After making his debut representing 1xBet at a major Latin American industry event, Strategic Advisor Simon Westbury shared with Focus Gaming News his impressions of SBC Summit Rio and the company’s next steps in Brazil. From securing its licence and officially launching operations to adapting its global product to local market preferences, Westbury discussed how the company plans to compete in what is expected to become one’s of the world’s most dynamic regulated gaming markets.

This was the first time you represented 1xBet at a major Latin American event. Did SBC Summit Rio meet your personal and professional expectations?

In short, yes, it was also my first time in Brazil, it is fair to say that the vibrancy and energy of Brazil certainly transferred to the show floor. The 1xBet stand was, as always, leading the way in terms of design and energy.

It was also an honour for me to represent 1xBet on a panel discussing how brands can build globally whilst remaining locally relevant. Finally, I was proud to share publicly that we have successfully acquired the licence in Brazil and are now live.

With the market on the verge of full operation, why is this the right moment for 1xBet to showcase its leadership at an event of this scale in Rio?

Everything in life is about timing, the timing of the show this year gave us the ideal time to announce that we had formally launched and were operating in Brazil. All markets are constantly evolving, and we have been fine-tuning the product since we went live and the show offered the right time for 1xBet to not only showcase our leadership but also demonstrate our commitment to the Brazilian market. 

You spoke on a panel about “Building Unicorns: Behind the Scenes.” What is the biggest challenge global brands face when trying to scale to “unicorn” status in Latin America?

All the panellists agreed that for global brands, the biggest challenge is ensuring that product appeals to the local market that you operate in. From a 1xBet perspective, I was delighted to outline to the audience how we ensure we are locally relevant and appeal to local market players in all jurisdictions we operate in.

We do this by employing a dual strategy for growth, focused on a robust and market-leading product, sophisticated digital acquisition and sponsorship in markets that allow. Then we leverage our global experience, based on over 18 years of industry experience, over 3 million monthly users and over 35 local licences. From this starting point we combine the global experience with local knowledge, understanding local and cultural preferences, to develop an informed local product and local marketing strategy that appeals to the market. Finally, we focus on player protection to ensure an enjoyable and safe environment for our customers.

“From a 1xBet perspective, I was delighted to outline to the audience how we ensure we are locally relevant and appeal to local market players in all jurisdictions we operate in.”

Simon Westbury, strategic advisor at 1xBet.

1xBet has a massive global footprint. How do you plan to translate that global power into sustainable, long-term growth, specifically within the local Brazilian landscape?

I think this is answered above. In case not, here is an answer around player protection.

To me, it is a combination of everything I have explained above, but I do think a key focus needs to be around player protection. We recently launched the Player Protection Index: LatAm. Although not just focused on Brazil, the report shows there needs to be a continent-wide dedication to player protection. 

Some of the key findings related to that LatAm was leading the way in terms of the use of technology, 69 per cent of respondents deploy real-time player activity monitoring and 34 per cent of operators in the region use AI in their player protection strategy compared to 30 per cent of operators in Western Europe. 

There does seem to be a clear regional regulatory gap around player protection with Brazil leading the way, alongside Argentina. Whilst in Chile, player protection is not enshrined in the legislation and left to the operator. The report showed that only 19 per cent of LatAm operators were conducting affordability checks on players and this demonstrates why player protection needs to be written into the regulation. 

There is also a need to educate players on safer gambling, although the report showed operators believed there was a gap in how technology could be used in player protection. It was clear from the qualitative data in the report the bottleneck was really education with 50 per cent of operators saying their customers viewed gambling as a source of income. This gap really needs to be closed in both LatAm and Africa. 

The final pillar or learning from the report for a sustainable future for LatAm related to the fiscal friction being driven from challenging regulatory environments, with Mexico increasing taxes to 50 per cent of GGR, in Brazil, taxes will rise to 15 per cent in 2028 and there are murmurings about a tax on deposits. This, coupled with the possible ban on sponsorships in some markets, means that Influencers are being used as a primary tool for the offshore market and we have seen the development of a shadow marketing industry, where we see influencers telling their followers that the regulated market means lower wins.

From a product perspective, what specific features or localised offerings is 1xBet highlighting for the Latin American audience this year?

A sports betting and online gaming market with features tailored to Brazilian preferences and cultural habits, offering localised experiences that align with the way Brazilian users interact with digital entertainment. This includes a platform designed to meet the expectations of the Brazilian audience, with content, functionalities, and user experience adapted to local customs, betting behaviours, and the growing demand for accessible and engaging online gaming environments.

What was 1xBet’s main message for the operators and partners you met with during the networking sessions in Rio?

I think the main message was simply that we are here, we are proud to be here and we have entered a market that we know will be very competitive. However, as always 1xBet will become one of the leading players in the market.

“The main message was simply that we are here, we are proud to be here and we have entered a market that we know will be very competitive.”

Simon Westbury, strategic advisor at 1xBet.

After SBC Rio, the industry moves to Sao Paulo for SiGMA Americas. How does your participation in Rio set the stage for what 1xBet will be presenting later in the season?

I think Rio has laid the foundation for what comes next and we will be in São Paulo reinforcing the messages that we were proud to announce in Rio.