Canada-based Bodog to sponsor Brazil’s H2 Poker Club

Canada-based online gambling brand Bodog is expanding its presence in South America. In an effort to increase awareness of its already popular online poker venue in Brazil, Bodog has inked a deal to become the official sponsor of the H2 Poker Club.

Located in São Paul, H2 is renowned as the biggest live poker venue in Brazil, attracting countless players to its tables every year. The new sponsorship deal between Bodog and H2 will see the online gambling operator integrate a branded lounge within the poker club, where players will be privy to a genuine “Bodog experience”.

The Canadian firm’s online poker arm, Bodog Poker, has already initiated a marketing campaign to promote the upcoming opening of the branded lounge at H2 Poker Club, scheduled to launch in summer 2017.

In a press release announcing the new partnership on Tuesday, Bodog PR Director Ed Pownall explained why he believes this is an important step for their brand, and for the evolution of online gambling in Brazil.

“We don’t want Bodog to be remote from its Brazilian customers,” said Pownall, knowing all too well that a visible connection between the merchant and customer is crucial to building trust and loyalty. “So we wanted to have a place where players can come a get the real Bodog experience and the H2 is the perfect fit.”

Pownall went on to detail the timeline for the project, and what visitors to the Bodog lounge can expect in the coming months.

“We are currently building the Bodog Lounge and over the Summer we’ll start hosting some fun tournaments with all the bells and whistles that we are famous for; models, celebrities, drinks and, of course, a party,” he said.

H2 Marketing Director Luana Bran was equally enthusiastic over the new partnership with Brazil’s popular online poker brand.

“We are excited to have a global brand like Bodog sponsoring the club,” she said. “We are proud to welcome poker players from all over Brazil and we are very confident that this partnership will help both parties grow in the region and cement our reputation as the best in our areas.”

Future of Online Gambling in Brazil

Bodog is one of the oldest and most respected names in the online gambling business, with roots dating all the way back to 1994. Based in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, Bodog’s latest maneuver not only exhibits the growing multi-channel link between land-based and online gaming operators, it has the potential to lay the foundation for what could easily become the world’s largest regulated online gambling market.

Internet gaming is not exactly legal in Brazil, nor is it explicitly illegal, due to the antiquated status of the law. However, in the last few years, politicians have undertaken strong legislative efforts to regulate online gambling in Brazil.

Analyst predictions vary, with some saying it could easily happen before 2017 is out, and others certain nothing will change before the October 2018 election. Whatever the case, whether sooner or later, if Brazil does move to regulate online gambling, all the experts agree that the region has a large enough gambling population to become the world’s most successful regulated iGaming market.