According to Almeida, the change in the concession term, from 25 years to 15 years, caused the auction to return to the original model proposed by BNDES and the consortium EY / Moyses & Pires / Zancan, with a grant of R$ 514 million (USD 158m). For the previous term of 25 years, the minimum amount of the grant would have been R$ 922 million (USD 283m).
According to Almeida, throughout the public hearings and consultations, companies complained about the minimum grant price because it was a high risk investment, a greenfield investment that would require a large investment to build a network of 65,000 outlets in five years.
He pointed out that the reduction of the concession term and the grant value was a decision "unanimously" taken by all those involved in Lotex's modeling process. Almeida also said that 65% of Lotex's ticket sales revenue will return as a prize for bettors and 16.7% will be government revenue, "which makes the government partner of the venture."
The secretary also clarified the other change published last Friday by the PPI on Lotex. He explained that in the case of ticket sales revenue required to qualify companies or consortium wishing to participate in the auction, only the deadline was changed. Before, the value was R$ 100 million (USD 30.7m) with the commercialization of tickets per month, which in 12 months would be R$ 1.2 billion (USD 368m). "Given the fluctuation that can occur in monthly sales, we think it better to specify this requirement for annual revenue rather than for a monthly one, following the suggestion of the public consultation," he said.
Almeida took the opportunity to highlight that the most important thing is that "this auction represents the organized opening of the lottery market in Brazil", with benefits for the sector and greater revenue for the government. "In the XXI century, it does not make any economic sense to have a lottery market closed, as is the case today in Brazil, since it is a public concession service that is not essential. As we know, more competition is good for companies and consumers," he said.
According to the secretary, Lotex’s process is still under review by the Court of Auditors of the Union (TCU). Once approved, the announcement will be published and, after 60 days, the auction will be held.
Source: GMB / A critica
