Helena Calderano, from Motegomery Associados / IMLG, participated as moderator and invited Witoldo Hendrich Junior, from Online IPS; Vicente Vieira, of Abragames and Manifesto Games; Karen Marcela Sierra-Hughes of GLI and Paulo Lopes, Minister of Tourism of Portugal, who raised the possibility that an approved online gaming legislation would give the population the opportunity to understand how gaming would work, with the advantage of haaving a market that already exists.
"The
online is already there, it's easy. It does not require investment like bingos
and casinos. If it was to test we could start with online to see how Brazilian
society adapts to gaming," said Witoldo Hendrich Junior, of Online IPS.
However, it has also been said that the entire gaming industry needs to come
together to think of marketing campaigns to inform Brazilians in favor of gaming,
countering the points raised by market opponents and some sectors of the media,
and putting pressure on the authorities to legalize the activity.
Another
point discussed was the ability of gaming to protect their consumers from risks
such as gambling addiction. The Minister of Tourism of Portugal spoke about the
country's experience in this regard.
"With rules we can protect these people. It is important to
regulate, we will not achieve the perfect situation. The experience of Portugal
is still not the best, we will reveal, but we have a regulation that gives
security," he said.
As for the
possibility of the gaming market opening doors for possible crimes, it was said
about the importance of a firm regulation and exposed to international
experience that could be used in favor of Brazil when regulating the market.
"The gaming industry is the most regulated in the world, I do not think
even banks have so many rules. As a former regulator, I feel bad when people
use this argument to denigrate the activity," said Karen Marcela Sierra -
Hughes of GLI.
Vicente
Vieira, from Abragames and Manifesto Games, said that the video games and
online gaming markets are moving in the same direction and many investments may
arise considering that the Brazilian population is one of the most connected in
the world.
"The Brazilian is ultraconnected, the population paying is great and there
is growth of social casinos. All these data attract investors. There is a great
universe to be worked on by online gambling," he concluded.
