According to Danrlei de Deus Hinterholz, “the lack of regulation of sports bettings in Brazil puts the popular economy and the integrity of sports in jeopardy. The delay in regulating matters only to illegal gambling, which erodes the economy of our country."
The following is the full text of the speech by Deputy Danrlei de Deus Hinterholz in Plenary:
Mr. President and the Honorable Members of the House, I request the proper disclosure by the communication organs of this House, especially in the program A Voz do Brasil, of the statement I now make to express my concern about the growing sports betting market in Brazil. Even without regulation, these bets happen all over the country, selling the idea of fast profit.
It is time for the industry to have clear rules, because we are not talking about any segment, given that the Brazilian market moves 50 billion reais (USD 13.5bn) per year, a very significant amount to not have regulation.
We are experiencing a real confusion on this issue of sportsbettings, since some of them are covered in capitalization and move USD 5.9bn per year, which represents 44% of bets. In addition, there are other games: federal lotteries, USD 4bn (30%); state lotteries, USD 94m (0.7%); turf, 80m (0.6%); sports betting, USD 1.05bn (8%); jogo do bicho, USD 806m (6%); casinos, USD 806m (6%); and bingos, USD 630m (4.7%).
There is another detail: in the IBGE Household Budget Survey, in which people declare their own expenses, the estimate of unregulated games is underestimated. In other words, the amount spent annually on bets by Brazilians is certainly much higher than the official data.
Therefore, I have no doubt to affirm that the lack of regulation of sports bettings in Brazil puts at risk the popular economy and the integrity of the sport. To have an idea, 13 years ago, eleven matches of the Brazilian Championship were canceled by manipulation of results.
A well-known example occurred in 2017 when thousands of bettors failed to receive their prizes because the ilegal operators did not honor the results of the 13th round of Serie A. The visiting teams won most of the games, significantly increasing the prizes. To ramp up even more, about 500 online gambling sites offer Brazilian games.
We are talking not just about illegality or confusion, Mr. President. The problem is much greater because most of these sites are registered abroad and operate in Brazil without any taxation, regulation or control of the Brazilian authorities.
It is important to report that a study by the University of Nevada pointed out that the only effective way to combat illegal gambling and organized crime in the gaming industry, besides preventing its use for money laundering, is good regulation, efficient monitoring and effective control. In practice, whoever is against legal gambling favors illegal gambling.
The frenetic movement of games without proper regulation ends up raising the risks of a disease calledludopathy, that is, a progressive alteration of the behavior of the individual who feels an uncontrollable need to play - games of chance-, neglecting any negative consequence.
Therefore, it is necessary not only to regulate casino games, sports bettings, bingo and jogo do bicho. We must urgently correct anomalies in the confusing legislation of lotteries, since how can we allocate percentages that reach 115% in the Federal Lottery and 104.5% in Mega-Sena, Quina, Lotofácil, Lotomania, Dupla Sena, Loteca and Lotogol?
Another absurd is the state lotteries situation. Whatever the reason, why can some states have lotteries and some not?Lottery is voluntary tax and its collection can finance policies of public safety, health, education, sport etc. The state lottery in New York, for example, raises USD 8 billion per year. Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo could exceed the amount of USD 270 million, which would represent a lot for Brazil.
To give up these amount is to prejudice the implementation of important public policies for Brazilians. That way, we can not wait any longer. Both in this House and in the Senate there are bills ready for voting in Plenary.
I appeal to the Parliamentarians of the two Legislative Houses to re-discuss, as soon as possible, the regulation of a topic of this magnitude and relevance, given that its benefits may contribute to the resolution of numerous problems of daily life in cities.
Enough of so much confusing and controversial information, because the delay in regulating only interests the illegal gaming, that corrodes the Brazilian economy.
Source: GMB
