Victor Arias has been appointed VP of LATAM and Head of Commercial LATAM at Tier-1 sportsbook technology provider FIRST.bet.
Arias arrives at FIRST.bet having previously held a senior leadership position at Pragmatic Play, where he built the company’s Latin America business from scratch.
He joined Pragmatic Play in 2020 with the specific mandate of opening its Latin America hub and developing a regional presence in the market.
What followed was one of the most impressive regional buildouts in the iGaming industry, as Arias established a localised team and turned Pragmatic Play into the category leader in casino across Latin America.
Before his time at Pragmatic Play, Arias spent close to two decades working across both B2C and B2B iGaming, including a period at Salsa Technology focused on Latin American business development.
FIRST.bet has made no secret of its ambitions in the region, with the company placing LATAM at the centre of its commercial strategy as it scales its sportsbook technology offering.
Tom Light, Founder and CEO of 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.”
Light added: “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.”
Chief Commercial Officer Amram Vita reinforced the appointment’s importance, stating: “Commercially, Latin America is where the sharpest growth in this industry is happening, and it is not won from a distance.”
Vita continued: “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.”
Arias himself expressed enthusiasm for his new role, saying: “I am honoured to take on Latin America for FIRST.bet.”
The appointment signals FIRST.bet’s determination to compete aggressively for market share across one of iGaming’s fastest-growing and most competitive regions.
