Turning TV stations into casinos is certainly not the answer to the problem of declining revenues faced by the sector.
In an open society, however, if there are entrepreneurs ready to promote prize draws in the midst of entertainment programs and consumers willing to purchase the product, it is not for the public authorities to prevent the transaction.
What is within the powers of the State is to ensure that the process proceeds without fraud, with the disclosure of all relevant information - the operation must also be taxed.
There is, however, a big difference between what good theory predicts and how the topic is conducted by the Jair Bolsonaro government - not with the intention of liberalizing the economy, but to help allies.
The legal path chosen, once again, was to issue a provisional measure, when a bill would be more appropriate. In this case, the relevance and urgency that, according to the Constitution, justify the employment of a PM cannot be seen.
In addition, if Congress lets the rule lapse, which has often occurred in the current legislature, those who have made investments to resume the draws will see ships. Legal certainty should be a priority in all government actions.
Criticisms can also be made to the PM's wording. The text refers to “entertainment services”, which have no legal definition. This most likely means that the measure itself will need to be regulated by other agencies.
It also lacked to address the filters to prevent compulsive gamblers from placing an excessive number of bets, which opens the door to legal challenges. That, after all, led to the banning of sweepstakes in the late 1990s.
Finally, the impact of the PM on the business of the entrepreneurs who asked the President for help is doubtful. They will face an inglorious competition with the internet, which is able to offer more diverse and instant betting modalities.
Source: Grupo Folha
