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PokerStars intends to promote the game of poker in Brazil; they emerged as the new main sponsors for the Brazilian Series of Poker. The series will feature events in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza és Balneário Camboriú. PokerStars officially announced that they are now the main sponsors of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP). Their main aim with their sponsorhip deal is to promote and familiarize people in South America with poker, facilitating the development and expansion of online poker in the area.
David Carrion, Pokerstars' Director for Live operations in Latin America stated:
“We expect to attract bigger tournament fields by offering more chances to qualify online for free, and therefore increasing participation from many more enthusiasts of the sport.”
The population of Brazil is 201 million, 76 million have internet access on a regular basis, which is a significantly lower percentage than in First World countries. This clearly shows how much potential the Latin American market has. According to the independent account consultancy KPMG, 44 percent of Brazilians online use the internet for gaming.
According to many analysts, Latin America is clearly a major market, where poker providers will want to expand. Zynga already contacted Mendez, a pre-paid card provider that enables gamers to deposit money on gambling and gaming sites.
Since a very low percentage of Brazil's population has a credit card, alternative solutions such as the above method are needed to help people deposit and withdraw.