VIE 29 DE MARZO DE 2024 - 05:55hs.
Mansueto Almeida, Secretary of fiscal monitoring

"Controlling only casinos is easier and the tendency is to legalize them first in Brazil"

'Once legalized, we will have to take all the care, supervision, monitoring and transparency. The tendency, for now, is to first legalize gambling in casinos,' says the Secretary of fiscal monitoring. In recent weeks, economic groups like Las Vegas Sands and Caesars Entertainment have visited parliamentarians and have gone to the Ministry of Finance, the Civil House and the Public Prosecutor's Office to present their studies.

Even after the Senate's CCJ vetoes legalization of gambling, companies are still mobilizing for its approval, but if it does, it will not be as soon or as broad as some expect.

In recent weeks, economic groups, especially those with casinos, which are the largest in the segment, visited parliamentarians and went to the Ministry of Finance, the Civil House and the Public Prosecution to present their studies.

"There is no consensus in Congress [on approval]. But since I took office in 2016, investors come to the country and hear what's about to happen. They are desperate, they think it will be fast and that they have to run with the contribution," says Mansueto de Almeida, secretary of fiscal monitoring of the Treasury.

"The government only accompanies, it is not involved in the debate. I'm a regulator, I'm not for or against it, it's a debate in Congress, "he says.

"But, once legalized, we will have to take all the care, surveillance, monitoring and transparency. The trend, for now, is to first legalize gambling in casinos,” according to Almeida.

"Controlling only casinos is easier, they are few and large. There is a rigorous screening to see if there is no money laundering," he says. If something illegal arises in a country, these groups take the risk of losing their license elsewhere.

"If you expand the gaming market, you will need a regulatory agency." Today, the department has 18 people to oversee lotteries.

"The very large legalization scares everyone: Public Prosecutor, Federal Police and Federal Revenue Service. The legal part raises U$S4.3 billion, which is a very small part of all gaming activity in the country. "

Source: GMB / Folha do SP