Bill 2312/21, which institutes the lottery service of the Federal District, was discussed in the District Chamber of DF. “The project has the potential to change our culture. It's something totally new. Legally speaking, we have CEF operating federal lotteries, but I congratulate the Secretariat and the Government for the initiative. The project is already in the House and will be discussed in four commissions,” said Deputy Roosevelt Vilela.
According to him, the reinforcement of the DF's cash flow and the impact on the economy are indisputable, "but we have to discuss the issue from various perspectives," he said.
Roberto Andrade, Secretary of Special Projects of the DF, stated that "we have carried out all the necessary studies and we have already been contacted by other states that are also interested in implementing their lotteries."
According to him, “in the area of lotteries and gaming, we understand that this is the best time to look for new resources for the source of treasure and apply them in the social area. Brazilians play in the CEF lotteries and the states have already realized that it is an alternative source of funds that each one can obtain in a viable way."
The opinions against the exploitation of lotteries by the Federal District Government, although less forceful than usual, belonged to Paulo Fernando, coordinator of the NGO Brasil sem Azar, Ane Barreto, representing the Civil Police of DF, and psychologist Mário Filho, with the already known themes of money laundering, tax evasion, gaming and organized crime, theories not supported and already quite clarified by those who know the activity of gaming.
Eduardo Almeida, representing the Union of Bares e Fecomércio, stated that there is a multiplying and inducing effect on the DF's economic development with the presentation of the Bill for the implementation of a lottery in the Federal District. His only opposition was regarding the delegation of the operation to third parties, while at the same time he suggested the use of the existing lottery network for the sale of the products to be created. At the end of his explanation, he made Fecomércio available for the stage of discussions for the regulation of the activity if it is approved by the District Chamber.
Deputy Roosevelt Vilela questioned the expense of R$19 million to create a thousand points of sale for future lottery products, saying that the proposal should have been more explicit about this expense, since he sees the points of sale as another source of revenue from the future operator. "A hotel can say that it is interested in installing a point of sale in its unit and the operator can see this as a franchise to be granted and charge for the concession, while there is a large lottery network that could be used for the distribution."
Such expenses, according to Secretary Roberto Andrade, involve the marketing structure, installation of IT and agent training, among other activities to be covered by such resource.
Henrique Severian, president of the Brazilian Association of Hotels (ABIH-DF), brought to the audience his support not only for the creation of the Federal District Lottery, but also for a future discussion and approval of casinos in Brazil. “The practice of gaming is in line with an international segmentation and this process in the Federal District is a precursor for a future debate on the implementation of casinos in the national territory. The destinations that have some familiarity or that already have ingrained control cultures and activities carried out in the region, take the lead in implementing this extremely important equipment to attract tourist flow,” he defended.
Urbano Simão, parliamentary advisor to Febralot (Brazilian Federation of Lottery Companies), commented that the lottery network in the Federal District is made up of 345 points of sale “ready for the lottery to be approved. We are specialists in games and serve the entire unbanked population, that is, we are a strong economic activity and we must be seen as social entrepreneurs.”
According to him, the lottery network in the Federal District can meet the demand in the local lottery with all the training acquired over the years and with great transparency and confidence. “The lottery network is investing to increasingly improve its services and if we have the freedom to sell other products, we would collect much more for the benefit of the Federal District Government and its population,” he guaranteed.
Amilton Noble, director of Hebara, defended the initiative of the Federal District Government when launching the PMI for the discussion on the implementation of a local lottery, while defending the position of the Febralot representative that the lottery network should be considered with the distribution of other lottery products other than those currently operated by CEF.
According to him, the state lottery operation is very tied. “To develop a new product there are many and time-consuming processes, while a dynamic operation in the hands of the private sector is much more agile,” he said. Noble exemplified with an action taken by Loterj, when his company was responsible for the operation, it placed a new instant lottery to assist victims of a flood in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro.
“Today, 450 betting sites operate in Brazil, moving more than R$10 billion, at the same time that the jogo do bicho moves R$12 billion. In other words, gaming exists and is in hiding. What governments have to do is bring the discussion on the subject and regulate and control the activity,” he defended.
The Bill will now go to the District Chamber committees and all suggestions presented by the audience participants, both in person and through digital channels, will be analyzed and may be included in amendments to the project.
Source: GMB
