Before giving the floor to the panelists, Bruno Omori outlined the gambling market and the importance of regulating the activity in Brazil. “We are talking about investments that can vary from US$ 10 to 70 billion with the international market plus the Brazilian one. This means a major impact on the real estate market, civil construction, furniture, and professional training, to reach the operation of the gambling and hotel sectors. This can generate billions of dollars in taxes and millions of jobs. Approving this activity and casinos will allow the economy to resume and create a segment for generating jobs and income,” he said.
Omori asked Senator Angelo Coronel about what needs to be done for the casinos in Brazil to be approved, what is the deadline and how it will work. “The legalization of the gambling sector is coming late. Brazil loses a lot of revenue every year due to the hypocrisy of some fellow congressmen, who see in the activity the promotion of prostitution and money laundering. We need to face the sector with reality, as it already exists in several modalities. What we need to do is go for the approval of casinos in resorts, which will give a boom in our economy,” said Colonel.
Regarding the advantages with the approval of casinos in Brazil, the jurist Régis de Oliveira said that with the regulation it is possible to bring to legality all those who are in illegality: “People are arrested, or they make arrangements with the police, and that it's negative. With legality, they will be given dignity, a formal job, a formal contract, social security and all deserved rights. In addition, bringing all the gambling sector to legality will be possible to raise around R$ 20 billion. Taxation and employment are a strong appeal to a resource-poor society. The government is lost in its debts, with a pandemic that scares us, and it is reluctant to legalize this activity. It is important to legalize the regulatory framework for gambling in Brazil.”
For Senator Angelo Coronel, “it is important to remember that games are part of the Brazilian's daily life, and to deny them is to cover the sun with a sieve and leave resources on the table that could be applied by the State for the benefit of the population. Estimates indicate that illegal gambling surpasses the legal one in Brazil. In 2019, the legalized sector moved R$17 billion, while the illegal game moved R$ 27 billion.”
According to him, there is no public policy with the resources of games and the formalization of jobs: “I believe that the government supports the legalization of the sector and needs this to finance social programs. Our role, as parliamentarians, is to ensure legislation that brings better welfare to the population and providing a basic income that will benefit almost half of Brazilians living in poverty.”
Ilana Klein, Senior Director of Marketing for Latin America at Playtech, stated that the regulation of part of the gambling sector does not make it healthy as a whole, as some activities will remain illegal: “When we look at Brazil, we see a large market and certainly the most important in Latin America. We are very anxious and waiting for the complete opening of the market. Sports betting is at the heart of our operations and we cannot talk about a regulated market without the internet, since this is the great world reality and in Brazil it is no different.”
“We want to develop this market, like the whole industry and ready to go all-in, which means training human resources and making various investments in the country,” she said, recalling that Playtech has a strong presence in important regulated markets, as in the UK. "And we are already in Latin America with a good presence in the Colombian market and arriving in Brazil will be a breaking point for our company," said Klein.
Regarding the articulations in the National Congress for the approval of a gambling law, Angelo Coronel said he believes that the theme has the necessary votes for approval. “We have to show the society the benefits of the sector so that it embraces this idea. Popular support is essential for advancing the agenda, so it is important for the topic to be in the media. I have made several videos on my social networks to show the need for the approval of the gambling activity in Brazil,” he commented.
Régis de Oliveira highlighted that there is a possibility that the Supreme Federal Court will decide the issue based on the Constitution, which establishes business freedom and gambling is a commercial activity like so many others. “The ban that took place under the Dutra government over 70 years ago is incompatible with the terms of our Constitution. This incompatibility of the rule is in the STF, since it was caused by an action from Rio Grande do Sul and it only depends on the minister Luiz Fux to define so that it can be voted. If the Supreme Court determines that the rule is incompatible with the current Constitution, the gambling activity will be released in Brazil, leaving the government only to regulate it,” he explained.
Klein stated that Playtech has high expectations regarding the regulation of gambling in Brazil and is ready to invest in resources, technological capacity and in everything that is necessary for an adequate performance. “To that end, we are already in contact with possible local partners to offer the market a high-level experience. We want to understand the whole process and what the Brazilian needs to feel well served by our great experience. We are ready. Playtech will be a player in the market and we will be in a strong relationship with local operators, offering our best available solutions,” she guaranteed.
Senator Coronel affirmed that there is resistance on the part of the evangelical group, “but they are more of a public expression, since in private the majority is in favor of legalization. I understand that it is a delicate issue, and we will need to have a lot of skill in dealing with this portion of Congress. Even the president of the Republic, who is an evangelical, has already given several signs that he is in favor of the activity, as he understands the benefits for society.”
Bruno Omori asked Régis de Oliveira about how the approval could move forward in the STF for it to finally happen. The lawyer said that society was not ready for gambling but is very involved with popular jogo do bicho even with bingo, which continues to operate illegally in São Paulo, for example. “But today society is mature, and many debates have been made in the National Congress with the participation of the population, so it is necessary to put any of the projects to vote, since we have one in the Chamber of Deputies, another in the Senate and the action in the STF. Someone has to give the final kick to solve this for the benefit of the country, legalizing everything that is illegal, giving dignity to people,” he stated.
Klein agreed that the regulation of the market is very important as a way of giving the sector the ability to offer security and transparency to players, the industry and investors. “The whole system includes the capacity for transparency, including regarding the registration of players to monitor their behavior, aiming at their own protection and of the whole business. This goes through a complete regulation that guarantees this protection to the market and makes us invest thinking about long-term business,” she analyzed, adding that“ we want to collaborate with the Brazilian economy and have the confidence to invest in the country with clear rules for both operators as for bettors, in the sense of having a strong and lasting market.”
Source: Exclusive GMB
