Fantasy games are betting games where the outcome is tied to the performance of athletes in real sports championships. An example that already exists in Brazil today is Cartola FC, in which competitors create virtual teams of football players. Points are accumulated according to the performance of these professionals in the championships. The player with the team that accumulates the most points receives a cash prize at the end of the championship.
The WG is chaired by deputy Bacelar (Podemos-BA), who proposed the inclusion of the betting modality, claiming that its practice is already widespread in Brazil, but lacks a law that allows its regulation, as well as the definition of protection mechanisms to the players. “If such a site fails to pay the winner, who can he turn to?”, he asked.
The project's rapporteur, Deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), also defends the need to regulate this type of game in the country, due to the impossibility of controlling the type of bet involved in fantasy games. “Anyone with a smartphone is able to follow a football game and bet on the outcome. You can, with a device in your hand, bet on any football team in Brazil,” said the rapporteur.
The report on the legal framework of gaming may be voted on by the WG today (9). Once approved by the group, the text can be appreciated in plenary. There is no forecast, however, that the final deliberation will take place until the end of next week, when the legislative recess will begin. The matter should be discussed in 2022 by the set of deputies.
External resistance
Among the deputies that make up the WG, there is a consensus that there is a need to legalize and regulate games of chance, as well as fantasy games, seen by the members of the group as a type of game apart because they are based on bets placed on the basis of observation of the performance of athletes, and not necessarily as a result of chance. Outside the WG, the project is seen with concern by members of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front.
For deputy Otoni de Paula (PSC-RJ), a member of the bench, the regulation is seen not as the result of a popular will, but of what he calls the “casino lobby”. According to the congressman, games of chance can be used as a tool to facilitate money laundering or tax evasion practices. Bacelar says that there are currently at least 450 offshore digital casinos available to the Brazilian public, with no obstacles in the current legislation for those who plan to commit this type of crime through gambling systems.
Another point raised by Otoni de Paula is the addiction that games can provoke. “In 1992, the World Health Organization included gambling in the list of pathologies. Anyone who is addicted to gambling is someone who doesn't control himself,” he declared in the plenary. Pastor and one of the leaders of the evangelical group, Sóstenes Cavalcante (DEM-RJ) also spoke in a similar way. “This breaks up the family, it is addictive, it is a problem for society.”
Bacelar already considers that without the regulation, the State's ability to identify the real number of people addicted to gambling is compromised and the adoption of prevention and combating mechanisms is also impracticable. “When you know, you treat. But with illegal gambling, even the addict hides from the family,” he pointed out.
Felipe Carreras does not fail to recognize that it is necessary for the regulation to be accompanied by means to combat gambling addiction. The deputy added control mechanisms in his report. “I included the registration of players, monitoring of bets, allocation of resources to treat people. I also added the possibility that, based on this registration, the family nucleus could be able to prohibit that person's access to gaming houses,” he explained.
The project is seen with interest by the president of the Chamber of Deputies Arthur Lira (PP-AL). His biggest challenge is to secure an agreement so that its approval is possible in plenary. In an interview to Metrópoles portal, deputy Cezinha de Madureira (PSD-SP), coordinator of the Evangelical Parliamentary Front, said that his bench will vote against. He considers that the votes of the evangelical front are enough to block the proposal's approval.
Source: Lucas Neiva – Congresso em Foco
