On May 16 and 17, once again, FEBRALOT and its representatives have been in Brasilia. Below is a brief summary of the results and decisions taken in the commitments of these days. On the 16th - Tuesday Several offices of parliamentarians were visited with the intention of promoting the public hearing scheduled for the 23rd.
The purpose of these meetings was to sensitize parliamentarians to support PL 7306/2017, and also to count on their support in the approval. FEBRALOT stressed that they need the project to be voted with extreme urgency because the Lottery Network is no longer able to keep its activities in operation.
With the help of deputies Luiz Carlos Hauly (PSDB / PR) and Goulart (PSD / SP), the Federation was able to collect the signatures necessary for the project to be circulated to Congress on an emergency basis. It was an important victory that will consolidate with the massive presence of lottery retailers scheduled for the day of the public hearing. Last Wednesday (17th), there was a meeting with presidents of state unions and executives of CAIXA, among them, the Vice President José Henrique Marques da Cruz and the Vice-President of Government and Lottery Funds, Deusdina dos Reis Pereira, where the internet gaming project was detailed presented.
CAIXA gave an explanation of how the betting public behaves in worldwide and the percentage that represents the collection in the process of lotteries in countries that already practice this modality. In these numbers, it was verified that online lotteries represent a very low percentage of collection and it was clear in the studies that the public expected to place bets on the internet is quite different from the usual audience that frequents lottery shops.
This way, the studies conclude that the risks of bettors migrating from one system to another are very small. It has been clarified that the only way to bet on the Internet is by credit card and that the minimum bet should be R$ 20,00 (close to US$ 6.25). Another mentioned point was that the bettor, when registering on the betting website, will inform his city and neighborhood and the system will present the Lottery of this neighborhood as a suggestion to receive the commission from these bets.
Another way to choose is the bettor to inform the lottery code directly to the destination of the commissions. Lastly, calculations were presented that led to the percentage of remuneration, based on the IPEA survey of 2009 and the PWC in 2016 on the profitability of the games of Lotteries without considering the services in the lottery network. Caixa's studies based on PWC surveys show that of the 8.61% commission received by the lottery 28% represents net income, which is pocket money that is equal to 2.41%, net percentage that they want to apply in Internet games, as they understand that the retailer will not have other expenses.
Febralot and the unions present argued that the offered index is very low. They also emphasized that the risk of lottery winners losing important customers to the digital medium is very large and that, with this index, the internet lottery business is only good for CAIXA.
Regarding the way of indicating the lottery, the unions and the federation say that the fairer should be if the lottery receives by the online games according to their participation in the games through the physical medium. A request was placed so that the minimum bet amounts for the Internet were higher than R$ 20.00.
The manifestation of the lottery leaders was contrary to what was presented and it was defined that the numbers should be revised and presented at another opportunity, but the percentage could never be 2.41%. After the meeting, some union presidents returned to the Congress to continue the work with the parliamentarians. Once again, Febralot asks the Network to make an effort to be present on May 23rd in Brasilia.
"We need to show that we are not happy with our situation and we need the help of the parliamentarians," said Jodismar Amaro, President of Febralot. "Look for your unions and participate in their caravans."
Source: GMB / Comunicação
