BIS SIGMA EXPO exposes the strength of Electronic Instant Lottery Terminals

With more than 250 exhibitors and an audience of more than 14 thousand people, BiS SIGMA Américas 2024, held in São Paulo last week, confirmed the expansion of gaming, wagering and the lottery market throughout Brazil. A wide display of products related to sports wagering and online gaming was to be expected, but the surprise  of the Expo was the large number of instant lottery product offers for state and municipal lottery markets.

Legalized gambling is almost a reality in the country and the illegal gambling continues to thrive, but now there is a new competitor with more modern technology, games tested by international laboratories and investments and it seems, without limitations.

The big discussion now becomes the importance of PL 2.243/22 in the legalization process in the country. For more than two decades, Brazil was called “The country of video bingo”, it is no longer the case. Certainly, PL 2.243/22 will legalize casinos, bingo, Jogo do Bicho and online gambling, in order to expand the legalization of gaming in its full form. In addition, it will promote States, Municipalities and the Federal government with taxes and protect its citizens from the harmful effects of unregulated gambling.

In relation to other modalities, Instant Lotteries explored by states and municipalities prematurely legalized the Brazilian market. This type of gambling, even if partially, legalizes the rest of gambling in the country. The Federal Law and its subsequent decrees define Instant Lotteries with the following verbiage; “Instant Lottery, implemented in physical and/or by virtual means, in which players will immediately know the result of their wager without the need to wait for a drawing  or a lottery contest to be determined”. Subsequent decrees defined Instant Lottery as a lottery modality in the form of ‘Scratch Cards’, with pre-established, numbered series and their prizes and probabilities defined before issuing their game plan for commercialization.

This lottery modality is operated all over the world, only in the United States in 90% of its territory. In fact, in many jurisdictions where casinos are not allowed. The Instant Lottery modality represents the gaming modality with greater control by the authorities due to the fact that its plan is pre-determined before commercialization.

Finite game x Random game

For the consumer, the entertainment experience is no different from the popular games found in casinos around the world. The root of the difference is the lack of “chance” in the game or because it is not “random”, commented an instant lottery expert.

In a random casino game, prizes are drawn based on a probability that is present intact in each play. In a game cycle we may have multiple players who won the jackpot, as well as none, it will depend purely on chance and luck.

In contrast, Instant Lottery is finite. In other words, the prizes are pre-established in the game plan and the probability improves with each ticket sold. If a game plan contains a jackpot in 500 thousand tickets, when selling just one ticket, the probability becomes 1 in 499,999. In 500 thousand tickets sold, a consumer will be awarded the jackpot, in random games, we may have multiple winners or none.

The packaging does not alter its contents

By selling instant lottery in paper or virtual form as permitted by Federal Law, this modality, in full growth and expansion, will be able to overcome the anxiety of decades of waiting for the legalization of gaming by the National Congress.

This market is counting on extensive investment and presenting the product in a modern and advanced way, by means of kiosks, stores and terminals that not only compete directly with the best in the world, but also with the worst we have in non-legalized gambling.

In Instant Lottery, its packaging in the form of cell phones technology, kiosks or terminals, will not alter its definition in Federal law. With advances in graphic programs, including artificial intelligence, these games are offered with the most modern and entertaining technology in the world.

This modality is currently being sold by multiple states and municipalities and during BiS SIGMA AMERICAS several companies presented what is coming in the coming months.

In the future, with fully legalized gambling, we will ask ourselves, “who came first, the chicken or the egg?” It seems to me that this question is beginning to be clarified and it could be Instant Lottery and its electronic terminals.