SAGSE Summit, SAGSE 2025’s conference series, launched with unprecedented success at the Hilton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center. After a welcome breakfast, Alan Burak, Vice President of Monografie, kicked off the event, announcing that the event will be renamed SAGSE South America, to differentiate it from SAGSE Central America, to be held in Panama.
The opening continued with a speech by Jesús Mariano Acevedo, president of the Buenos Aires City Lottery (LOTBA), which participated as the event’s host lottery.
Jesús Acevedo, president of LOTBA
Block 1 dealt with the ‘Latin American Regulatory Panorama’. The first speaker, representing the Argentinean case, was Ida López in her double role as president of the Provincial Institute of Gaming and Casinos of Mendoza and of the Association of Argentinean State Lotteries (ALEA).
Based on a recent ALEA report, she highlighted not only the importance of online gambling in the country but also the impact that new technologies are having on the expansion of illegal gambling, especially among minors.
Ida López, presidenta de ALEA
Faced with this problem, she detailed the efforts made but called for a national policy to fight this crime, mentioning the bill that passed through the Chamber of Deputies. “We need more resources,” she concluded.
Cecilia Valdés, Executive President of the Chilean Association of Gaming Casinos (ACCJ), then took the floor and shared a complete overview of the industry in Chile, focusing on casinos as a promotion of tourism and gastronomy. She also continued with the debate on illegal gambling, highlighting the existence of illegal machines in the country and the need to enact new legislation that covers online gambling.
Cecilia Valdés, president of the ACCJ
Paraguay was the next stop of Block 1, with the presentation of Livia Buzó, the general technical coordinator of CONAJZAR, who gave a complete report on the sanction of Law n°7438, which ends with the monopoly in the operation of games of chance. Continuing with the Paraguayan market and the opportunity generated by the new regulation, Giovanna Magalhães, from APEJA, took the floor.
Georges Didier Flores, Regional Director for Latin America of GLI, was in charge of explaining the current scenario in Brazil, from the regulation process and its repercussions in lotteries and licenses for online gaming. The closing of the regional regulatory panorama culminated with the words of the President of the Banca de Quinielas del Uruguay, Roberto Palermo, and a global vision of the Uruguayan betting and gaming market.
Then, Block 2 explored the “Legal Framework, Security and Responsible Gaming”. With an original presentation with nods to Star Wars, Tomás García Botta made an in-depth analysis of the new regulations that are being sought to be established in Argentina. Following the Argentinean case, Adrián Grassi, from the Ministry of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires, took the stage and, under the moderation of LOTBA Director Ezequiel Domínguez, spoke about the fight against illegal gambling in the capital of Argentina.
The block was closed with two experts on the protection of minors against gambling addiction. First, it was Samer Atassi‘s turn, from Jumio, who showed the different protection and security systems that can be applied against the dangers of the digital world. Finally, Santiago Stura, coordinator of Institutional Communication of the NGO Faro Digital, detailed the work that his organization carries out in this fight.
Finally, Block 3 arrived, one of the most awaited by most of the attendees, as it revolved around the situation of the Brazilian market. The first speaker was Sofía Muñoz, Senior Sales Manager at Braze, who shared her knowledge of marketing in the area of player acquisition and retention.
Then, moderated by Pablo Zuppi, Director of Yogonet, there was an open discussion with Natalia Nogues, CEO of Control F5, and Leonardo Baptista, CEO & co-founder of Pay4Fun. The specialists’ speeches focused on payment systems, starting with the successful case of Pix in Brazil. Both Nogues and Baptista underlined the importance of payment methods not only for the development of the market but also for the fight against illegal gambling.
To close the space focused on the Brazilian market, Paulo Giliade, CEO of Axtro Group, and Ignacio Fiorentino, Sales Manager Latam of Lgaming Affiliate Network, gave their impressions on the different marketing strategies applied to attract and keep customers in the Brazilian regulated market.
Once the conference cycle was over, attendees were able to attend a cocktail party that allowed for extensive networking among visitors. Between an extensive menu and various talks on topics of importance to the sector, the eagerly awaited official ribbon cutting of the event and the opening of the exhibition hall for the general public were awaited.
