As moderator, Bichara Neto opened the debate talking about the importance of integrity for sports and betting. “It is no use for us to open the market for sports betting without creating protection mechanisms. As we know, we have the risks of manipulating results, and the biggest characteristic of sports is unpredictability,” he argued before introducing Udo Seckelmann.
Seckelmann started the webinar explaining the situation in which sports betting regulations are in and states that now is the time to talk about the topic. “Despite being a current topic, we haven't seen so many debates about sports betting, and the time to debate is right now. It is not important to discuss this now just because it is when the regulations are being drafted, but also because it would be a great revenue resource for football clubs to oxygenate themselves after the pandemic, as well as public coffers from tax collection,” explained Seckelmann.
“The GGR taxation model is the most used in markets such as England, Spain, Italy, etc. We have to pay close attention to regulation so that we don't make the same mistakes as countries that have wrongly regulated. This is the case in Portugal, which regulated online betting in 2015. Today, in 2020, they have only 11 companies licensed in their market. For you to have an idea of comparison, Italy has more than 200 and in the United Kingdom there are more than 1000. Portugal was unable to attract companies because it has a very bureaucratic licensing process and they adopted a tax system called turnover, on the total volume of bets and a very high rate, so firms that try to enter Portugal cannot compete effectively with the unlicensed market. A recent survey came out saying that 75% of Portuguese gamblers still use the illegal market,” explained Seckelmann.
On the main aspects that the Brazilian sports betting law must consider to protect the legal market, Percy Wilman emphasized internal and external supervision. “There are many important aspects to determine how attractive a market is to enter and invest. As the operator of a regulated market, taxation is extremely important. If it is too expensive in terms of taxes to open a business, have a license and operate, that is a disincentive. Especially for large platforms, which are already available online. In addition to what can be regulated, or not, today we can access any platform in Brazil.”
For Wilman, it is essential that there is action by the regulatory authority that controls or delivers licenses to protect in two ways:
Internal inspection: “You have to start inspecting those operators who continue to offer accounts, but who do not have a license. It is very important, because if I, as a company, pay for my license, contractual rights, workforce, taxes and compete against someone who is not doing it in the same system, I am losing and I am at a disadvantage. Why should I stay within the legal system?"
External inspection: "This is a little more complex, but it is not impossible. External inspection refers to the control of the IP, so that people who are in Brazil do not enter pages from abroad, unless they have, for example, a com.br termination. This is something complex, changeable, and necessary to encourage the player to leave the international market.”
Bichara asked Udo on how to protect the gambler and, especially, the minor. "We know that we have to take care of the other side of the game, which is addiction, protection for minors, etc.," warned Bichara when raising the issue with Udo. “In England, they limit the extent to which they can advertise without reaching addicts and minors. There are some English regulations that say sporting goods that the target audience is minors cannot advertise with bookmakers. Not only to buy, but also to compete in championships. Newcastle, for example, is sponsored by a betting company, but when it comes to competing in championships in the grassroots category, it cannot advertise that firm on the jerseys. It is a type of observation that should be considered in Brazil too,” reflected Seckelmann.
Asked about the controls that are carried out around the world regarding the actions of the athletes themselves in cases of manipulation of results, Wilman cited the case of England to explain how this topic is treated: "The Premiere League and others have specific regulations that they deal with the relationship between sports and betting, teams, players and even the technical team, coaches, masseuses and the entire team of the club. There, it is specified what they are prohibited from doing. Depending on the conduct of this person, the case goes through a sports discipline court."
"In the meantime, if there is any element that could be considered a criminal offense, that same file will be taken to a court or a local prosecutor for investigation. This research is carried out in parallel. Violations of sports regulations are not necessarily criminal actions. For example, it is forbidden for a player to be the image of a bookmaker. If a player commits this fault in England or in his country of origin, the rule leads to the application of a sports sanction which can be a fine or, suddenly, a suspension. But criminally, there is no sanction because there is no criminal act punishable by the prosecution," added the Genius Sports expert.
It was at this point that Bichara talked to Tiago Horta Barbosa about the right time to implement integrity in Brazilian clubs. “It is past time for federations to prepare to implement their integrity systems. I can tell you that 95% to 98% of federations or leagues treat this issue with disregard, as if it were something minor. I think it is essential to have someone in the league who deals exclusively with integrity issues, following games, receiving complaints ... We talk a lot about monitoring, but when dealing with fraud the best instrument to detect this is through complaints. You need to have serious reporting channels to build trust to the point that the person makes a report, ”explained Barbosa.
During his master's article, Barbosa traveled to Europe to understand everything about the Spanish league. “La Liga has a complete integrity sector. They have six investigators, with experience within the police, to work exclusively on this subject. So, the federations could do more serious work. You don't need to have a budget of 3 million euros, as is the case with La Liga. It may be cheaper, but it has to be important. Especially because the sport's credibility is the ‘golden goose’. If the sport loses its credibility, it loses the public's interest,” analyzed Barbosa.
When Bichara passes the ball back to Seckelmann, he brings out the profitability of betting for the sport. “If we realize who are the main sponsors of Brazilian first division football today, they are usually banks, credit companies, insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, supermarkets, etc. They all have in common to have nothing to do with football. So, from the moment a new niche arrives in the Brazilian market, in which they share the same synergy, product and target audience, the possibilities become enormous and can help clubs a lot,” said Seckelmann.
Concluding this matter, Bichara positioned himself saying: “Brazilian football, more than ever, needs new investments and we are looking forward to this regulation.”
Source: GMB
