Rio de Janeiro deputies pressures against monopoly of scratch cards games

The text is hard and emphatic. The intention of the Federal Government to create a monopoly of instant lotteries will lead to the emptying of the state's public coffers and the ruin of social projects, which today are fully funded with resources from these regional games.

According to them, what the Ministry of Finance is proposing is the creation of a monopoly where only the Federal Government, from a bidding, could operate instant lottery. But state lotteries, which have existed for more than 100 years in the country, are already operating this model and would lose the right to operate it. Remembering that the Raspadinha is a brand created by Rio de Janeiro.

"In succinct terms: by "determining" exploitation in the same way as 50 years ago, unaccompanied by all political, social, economic, cultural, technological, population, and so forth changes, it is, by oblique ways, (Primary income deprivation) and social development for vulnerable people (serious social risk)," says Sérgio Ricardo de Almeida, president of LOTERJ, in the letter.

Rio de Janeiro created the model of the Raspadinha for 26 years, which today the Ministry of Finance wants to explore with exclusivity in Brazil. The purpose of the group of deputies is to defend Rio de Janeiro's interests and also to show Meirelles that Brazil can not and should not go in the opposite direction of the European and American lottery markets, which strengthen state lotteries that collect large amounts of money for local governments.

The following is the complete text of the letter from the president of the Lottery of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj), Sergio Ricardo de Almeida:

CONSIDERATIONS AND RELEVANT JUSTIFICATIONS

STATE LOTTERIES

SEAE, a body linked to the Ministry of Finance, sent a Technical Note1 to LOTERJ, in which, if prevailing the absurd thesis raised, which violates constitutional principles, will lead in practice to the end of the successful social actions of LOTERJ, developed in the last 75 Years, in every State of Rio de Janeiro.

The monopoly that will emerge in the practice of this perverse interpretation of the SEAE will have a strong impact on the lives of hundreds of children and families who study in care centers maintained by LOTERJ. It will cause damage to dozens of entities that take care of activities and programs for the care of people with disabilities. It will endanger social projects involving children and adolescents at risk and social vulnerability, who have their security threatened and exposed.It will adversely affect programs to defend women victims of violence and combat the corrosive drug addiction. It will cause impact to projects supported by RIOSOLIDARIO - Obra Social of Rio de Janeiro, by the Foundation of Childhood and Adolescence (FIA) and by the Secretariat of Social Action, among many others.

In addition, lottery activity in our state has an impact on an entire productive chain that involves the circulation of prizes, more than 4,000 points of sale, distributors, advertising, graphic printing, among other sectors, generating income and employment, boosting the economy and state industry, because different from the federal lottery, the prizes are destined exclusively to the people of Rio de Janeiro.

SEAE intends to use the temporal limitation of Decree-Law no. 204/67, published by virtue of Institutional Act Number Four (AI-4), for the purpose of the 1964 Dictatorship, during the parliamentary recess, which in practice never has taken effect. And, whose interpretation, of the greatest publicists of the country's law, report as unconstitutional in relation to the previous Charter of the Republic, and not received by the present Federal Constitution of 1988.

In succinct terms: by "determining" exploitation in the same way 50 years ago, unaccompanied by all political, social, economic, cultural, technological, population, and so forth changes, it is by oblique State lotteries, with all its effects, especially the budget (primary income deprivation) and social development for the vulnerable (serious social risk).

In the last 50 years, in spite of the Union's exclusive competence to legislate on syndication systems and draws, which, according to STF Binding Summary 2, included Bingos and Lotteries, nothing was decided about the lottery operation by the States and by the Federal District.

However, the operation of lottery games does not constitute a monopoly of the Union, since they are absent from the restrictive role of art. 177 of the Constitution.

In the same step, art. 195, III, establishes that social security will be financed directly and indirectly by society as a whole, in accordance with the law, through resources from the budgets of the Federal Government, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities, and social contributions on the prognostic contest recipe.

In this tuning, it is sought to repair offense to the principle of Separation of Powers, under the terms of art. 2nd of the CF and 7th of the CERJ. We understand that it is not for SEAE - as SECRETARIAT FOR ECONOMIC MONITORING, who is responsible under the terms of art. 19, of Law no. 12,529 / 11, in particular, to promote competition in government bodies and to society, and, in particular, to give its opinion on the aspects related to the promotion of competition, on proposals for changes in normative acts of General interest; to consider, when pertinent, legislative proposals in progress in the National Congress, as well as to prepare studies evaluating the competitive situation of specific sectors of the national economic activity, ex officio or when requested; In addition to proposing the revision of laws, regulations and other normative acts of the federal, state, municipal and Federal District public administration that affect or may affect competition in the various economic sectors of the Country; And may request information and documents from any public, private or public persons, organs and entities and/or enter into agreements with public or private, federal, state, municipal, Federal District and Territory bodies or entities for promotional measures of competition. Choose, in addition to its powers, to determine the paralysis of the exploitation of public services of state lotteries, without considering its legal attributions, preferring to interpret complex situation, based on a regulatory decree of 2017 and pre-constitutional statutes stagnated and not received by the CF 88, to the detriment of the Member States and their own institutional mission.

Considering, lastly, that it is forbidden to the Union, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities to distinguish between Brazilians or preferences, the express revocation of article 1 and 32, §§ 1 and 2 of Decree-Law No 204/67, with efforts between the union and the federal states for the construction of modern legislation and capable of ensuring national development.

In view of the foregoing, Mr. Congressman, we ask you to work with the Ministry of Finance to stop the harmful action against the state lottery and its social projects.

We are facing the great opportunity of repairing the history of repression of the State Lottery, held 50 years ago, and the way is going through the National Congress that democratically debates the new legal framework of gambling in the country.

At your disposal

Sergio Ricardo de Almeida

Source: GMB