As soon as she took office, Mayor Marcia Bin (PSDB) invited lawyer João de Oliveira to take over as Head of the Department of Parliamentary and Governmental Assistance. His task would be to find new sources of funds for the city without burdening taxpayers' pockets. That's when he turned to the project to implement the municipal lottery, an initiative aimed at entertainment and the exploration of games of chance.
“In September of last year, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) released the exploitation of games of chance by municipalities in Brazil, as the Union already does with Caixa Lotteries. As this is a service that does not create new taxes or taxes for the population, generates employment and income and, above all, it is a continuous source of resources, Mayor Marcia decided to bet on this model,” explained Oliveira.
Pursuant to the municipal law, the city may transfer the lottery system concession to a private entity, since the municipal administration does not have experience in operating the service.
In this case, 55% of the collection is used to pay prizes, and the remainder is divided between the contracted company and the municipality. Also according to the legislation, the city may apply resources in the areas of sports, social assistance and urban security.
“We are in the phase of finalizing the operational studies and construction of the legal, operational and tax framework, since Poá should be the first city in Brazil to implement such a service. We will be the vanguard in this sense, therefore, the project requires caution,” concluded Oliveira.
Source: Lailson Nascimento – Gazeta Regional
