A study by KPMG and the RGA (Remote Gambling Association) also shows that tax revenue from legalizing sports betting, casino, poker and bingo on the internet would reach US$ 400 million per year.
Calculations fromthe Ministry Finance show that this revenue could double if gambling in general, including the "physical" betting version, was legalized. For now, the Secretariat for Economic Monitoring is studying to send a bill regulating only fixed odd betting, in which players be ton future events such as sports or election results.
The idea is to create rules for the future licensing of the operation of these bets. In countries like Italy, more than 40 companies operate in this market.
Today, Brazilians bet on these kind of games on foreign websites: the KPMG and RGA survey quotes that in 2015 - the most recent available- they wagered a total of US$ 313 million. If fixed odd betting would be regulated, the national market could reach US$ 1.2 billion in this modality alone.
Online casino games could move another US$ million per year, according to the study. For poker and bingo, it is estimated that bets would reach US$ 160 million and US$ 127 million per year, respectively.
"The common point (among countries that have successfully regulated online gaming) is a licensing scheme open to international operators, in partnership with a revenue taxation system," said RGA president Clive Hawkswood. "If the Brazilian government follows these examples, it will achieve solid results."
According to the Secretary of Economic Monitoring, Mansueto Almeida, the trend is that the revenue generated by online games will be passed on to society. "The defense of the legalization of this type of activity can not be based on direct collection for the State," he says. "In countries where these games are legalized, the arguments for the operation are job creation, infrastructure improvements and expansion of the tourism chain."
Regulatory agency
Currently, there are two bills in the House and Senate that propose the legalization of all games of chance, not just electronics. The progress of these proposals faces resistance from both the evangelical and the Federal Public Prosecutor, who believe that legalizing gambling can open the door to large-scale money laundering.
That is why, in Mansueto's assessment, before establishing legalization, it is fundamental to create an independent regulatory agency to oversee the sector.
Today, the inspection of lotteries in the Ministry of Finance, for example, is done by a team of less than 20 people. “For a wide legalization of games, we will need to greatly increase this number, create a career of its own and have an independent agency with a multidisciplinary team of economists, lawyers and computer engineers," he says.
Source: GMB / Folhapress
