“At the beginning of the Lotex process, there were a number of strands for the instant lottery in Brazil and the modeling came to an end that culminated in the absence of the government in the business and opened the possibility for bidding. Two multinational companies took on an interesting lottery model. Now they will put new lottery products on the market, making society see the gambling industry with different eyes,” explained Marques.
“Lotex is already a reality that will be operational soon. Our new challenge now is to regulate sports betting and the government will do its part by setting all the necessary parameters for the activity to have a proper law,” he added.
According to the Undersecretary of Prizes and Draws, points were identified to be changed in the law itself, which could have been done, but eventually left aside when the law was passed. “Now, we will regulate the law, but we know it's going to take a while. The decree to be published in January may be delayed, but we are working on it so that everything meets the expectations of the government, society and also the operators,” he said.
For Marques, “the tax on online gambling provided for in the approved law is high, but we could not change it when it was approved. We are seeing what can be done from a change in the law after regulation,” he explained, adding that “at this point it is important for the operation to begin and the operators to offer their knowledge to improve the activity. We expect the operation itself to begin around June 2020.”
Regarding royalties to sports entities, he commented that it was not possible to put in the law and "this will be a reason for discussions in the future to come up with a term that meets the operators and, obviously, the entities."
Sports betting companies must certify the appropriate and approved payment methods for the operation. “This is important for the safety of gamblers and the credibility of the activity. We are focused on that, and we are sure that everything will be very transparent to the sector,” concluded Waldir.
Source: GMB
