Horse racing registers revenue growth in the country.
The year 2018 saw the highest revenue for the Brazilian Jockey Club (JCB) from horse racing bets in the last two decades. According to PMU Brasil, which manages and develops the betting distribution networks, the total was R$ 224 million. This figure reverses a history of disinterest in horse racing, which had seen an annual decline of 10% until December 2015. The expectation is to close the year with R$ 233 million.
“This recovery will happen in even larger steps as the country's economy improves. The potential is enormous, as Brazil has the fourth largest horse population in the world, and Brazilians love the animal and the sport. Horse racing has everything it needs to grow even more,” says Joseph Levy, CEO of PMU Brasil, a company also responsible for producing and broadcasting images of JCB races and managing the betting system.
According to Levy, 75% of the total revenue returns to the bettors. The difference fuels the entire horse racing production chain, which involves hundreds of professions and specialties, such as jockeys, grooms, stable hands, farriers, riding instructors, veterinarians, and saddlers. According to PMU Brasil, horse racing generates 27 direct jobs in the country.
Growth strategy
A subsidiary of PMU France, the largest horse racing betting operator in Europe and the third largest in the world, PMU Brazil has been operating in the country for three years. It attributes the increase in annual revenue to investment in new betting formats and the creation of points of sale. Since 2015, the number of betting locations has jumped from 52 to 190 throughout the country, with a total of 30 active bettors. In Rio alone, there are 96 points of sale.
“Our proposal is to consolidate and develop the horse racing market in the country, bringing the experience of PMU France, a century-old company that has contributed to the socio-economic development of several regions of France. That's what we want to do in Brazil,” emphasizes Joseph Levy, who gives an example of the potential for the development of horse racing in Brazil, a sport that once brought together 40 people at the Jockey Club Brasileiro (JCB) to watch the Grande Prêmio Brasil:
"In Queimados, in the Baixada Fluminense region, there is a street horse race that brings together up to four thousand people every month."
According to Joseph Levy, the strategy of diversifying betting channels across online, offline, and mobile platforms also contributed to the record revenue this year at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, which accounts for 60% of the national racing offerings.
“We adopted the omnichannel concept, integrating offline and online points of sale, with the possibility of betting by phone, through our website, tablet and mobile phone. We also modernized the betting locations, making them more attractive to bettors, including young people,” says Joseph Levy. ( O Dia )
