FIRST.bet has appointed former Pragmatic Play Latin America leader Victor Arias as Vice President of LATAM and head of commercial LATAM, as the sportsbook technology provider puts Latin America at the centre of its commercial strategy.
Arias joins from Pragmatic Play, where he built and led the company’s Latin America business from its early days into a category leader. He joined Pragmatic Play in 2020 to open its Latin America hub and built a regional structure with a localised team.
According to the company, the structure turned Pragmatic Play into the category leader in casino across Latin America.
Before joining Pragmatic Play, Arias spent close to two decades in iGaming across B2C and B2B, including a period at Salsa Technology focused on Latin America business development.
Arias will lead FIRST.bet’s commercial effort in Latin America as the company builds out its LATAM hub and localised team. FIRST.bet already runs localised technology live in regulated jurisdictions across the continent, with Brazil anchoring its commitment to the region.
FIRST.bet’s approach to localisation extends beyond translating a product into Spanish or Portuguese and includes localised service, trading, content and teams.
Tom Light, Founder and CEO, FIRST.bet, said: “LATAM has to be serviced by LATAM. That is how we are building the business, and Victor has run that playbook at the highest level already. He knows these markets are not one market. Having him lead our commercial effort in the region is the strongest signal we can send about how seriously we take it.”
Amram Vita, Chief Commercial Officer, FIRST.bet, said: “Commercially, Latin America is where the sharpest growth in this industry is happening, and it is not won from a distance. Victor has spent years earning the trust of the operators who set the pace in these markets, and that trust does not transfer to just anyone. Having him running our commercial effort in the region changes the conversations we can have and the speed we can have them at.”
Victor Arias, VP of LATAM & Head of Commercial LATAM, FIRST.bet, said: “I am honoured to take on Latin America for FIRST.bet. This is a market I know deeply, having led Pragmatic Play’s growth into the leading provider in the region, and the opportunity here is immense. We are bringing Tier-1 sportsbook technology together with a completely localised strategy. The goal is ambitious but simple: to make FIRST.bet the number one sports betting partner in Latin America, with a truly local identity.”