While many operators and other industry stakeholders highlight illegal operators as their main concern, Flood and Superbet maintain that their strong start in the market is their main area of focus.
“I don’t wake up every day thinking about the illegal market,” Flood tells iGB. “The competitive intensity would be what wakes me up every day, or what I think about when I wake up.
“I think there’s a lot of data out there that suggests that it’s quite meaningful in terms of total size. I think there’s ways that that gets big and scary when people use deposit volume to size that market.
“In actual terms of maybe revenue capture, which is a better marker of what players are spending, I think it’s a good bit lower than most people’s estimates.”
However, Flood does say he is concerned about the threat the black market poses for players in terms of player protection standards.
Superbet looking to maintain podium position
Superbet has enjoyed an impressive start to the regulated market in Brazil, ranking among the top three licensed operators for market share, according to H2 Gambling Capital’s data.
Flood has a “high degree of confidence” that Superbet is currently in a firm podium position. He also believes the company is closing in on second place.
Like many, Flood expects consolidation in Brazil as the market matures. Three top brands are expected to dominate the market as smaller operators fall away due to high costs and lack of competitive edge against Superbet, Betano and Bet365.
“What we see is there’s going to be a wave of consolidation at some point in the market as the unit economics of competing get a bit harsher,” Flood continues. “High tax burdens, the cost of advertising, you see some sponsorship prices going through the roof.
“It’s incredibly expensive to raise awareness in Brazil about a brand and to build trust. We see that probably some of those smaller brands may fall away at some point in time and the market will probably be dominated by three big players, that would be our estimate. We would hope, and are quite confident, that we will be one of the three.”
Localisation key to Superbet’s success
Prior to 1 January, there was some speculation that international brands may struggle to get a foothold in Brazil, with local operators winning out due to localisation and an enhanced knowledge of their home country’s diverse culture.
But Superbet has invested heavily in local talent, deepening its connection with Brazilian bettors.
“If you were to ask why we’ve been successful, I would say it’s because we’ve invested in finding local people to really help us connect with the Brazilian audience, the Brazilian fan base,” Flood explains.
“That goes deep into how we communicate with customers, even the brand tone, these types of things.
“You cannot take a European proposition and just stick Brazilian flags or change it into Portuguese and put it out there to customers. You really have to find ways to connect.”
Superbet’s investment has extended to sponsoring the 2025 Rio de Janeiro Carnival and Série B, the second-highest football league in Brazil. Additionally, the club is also the front-of-shirt sponsor of top-flight clubs Fluminense and São Paulo.
“The Brazilian fan base is so passionate about sports and so emotionally involved in it, that there’s just different ways to connect,” Flood says. “And we’ve brought that to life.
“But it’s not just putting a badge on that shirt. It’s how we’ve brought that to life in terms of the activations. They are ways for us to connect with those local customers and local audience in a much, much deeper way.”
Superbet Brazil marketing investment to continue
Flood says Superbet has “definitely” achieved what it sought from its initial marketing investment in Brazil.
“When you look at the brand we’ve built in such a short time in Brazil, it’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of,” Flood continues. “That’s testament to the local marketing team that we’ve built out, who make all these decisions day to day.
“When you look at our brand awareness, it’s gone incredibly well. We think that’s what’s translated into what we [believe] is a clear number three in the market at this point.”
This investment in marketing will continue, according to Flood.
“We’ll definitely keep a portion of our investment efforts in this space, because of how effective we’ve found it to be,” Flood concludes.
“We do think it’s part of our superpower of connecting with the local customers and how well we’ve executed in those spaces. For the foreseeable future, we’ll continue to pursue that.”
Dingnews.com 20/10/2025