GMB - Why did the OAB / DF decide to create the Gaming Law Commission? Who had the idea?
Sérgio Garcia Alves - I would highlight three reasons that guided the Order of Lawyers of Brazil - Sectional Council of the Federal District (OAB / DF) to create the Games Law Commission: (i) the willingness to contribute in a qualified manner to the national debate on the regulation of topics related to the gaming sector; (ii) the convenience of bringing together lawyers from Brasília who have been sought for legal guidance and government relations; and (iii) the opportunity to disseminate the niche as a new area of advocacy.
The idea came from lawyers who already work in the field and intend to improve their professional practices. The President of the OAB / DF, Délio Lins e Silva Jr., and the Sectional Council readily accepted the proposal, as they agreed with this motivation and saw the OAB as an open space for the democratic debate of ideas.
Has the Commission gained the support of lawyers interested in the regulation of this area? Yes, there are requests for participation by lawyers from various areas (tax, regulation, civil, business, criminal, governmental relations) and not only from Brasília.
I take this opportunity to share our Internal Regulations (available only in Portuguese) and invite GMB readers to join the Gaming Law Commission, which also allows for the formal participation of professionals from other areas and Brazilian states.
The subject is multidisciplinary, and we have much to gain from the experience of other colleagues.
What legal and marketing outlines of this sector have you discussed?
Beforehand, I record our understanding that not all gaming matters depend on regulation. There are issues on the agenda that would not be subject to law or state action, and that depend exclusively on the relationship between private parties and contracts between the parties.
That said, the Commission is organized to act under three biases, of public and private interest: (i) “stricto sensu” legal (operation, business arrangements, contracts, taxation); (ii) regulatory (the choices that the State and agents have to make); and (iii) public policies (advocacy, policy and governmental relations).
Based on these approaches, the Commission's Internal Regulations list topics of interest: legal concepts of gaming and betting, legal framework for the activity, state lotteries, sports betting, responsible gambling, tax collection, ways of payment, integrity in sport, among others.
Today, most teams that participate in the A series of the Brasileirão are sponsored by bookmakers. After the regulation of sports betting, do you believe that this market will grow? Does the regulation project proposed by SECAP encourage the implantation of this industry in Brazil?
Above all, I believe that there will be transparency about the market and legal comfort for more investment. We will cease to live under the tension that we operate permanently in gray areas of the market and the law.
There is a solid legal argument in the sector that the sports betting market is regular for a number of reasons: federal law is only pending regulation, location of companies abroad, licenses issued by foreign regulators, servers hosted in other countries, among others. With this reasoning, we do ostentatious advertising, partnerships in sport, sponsorship contracts, we offer the product to the Brazilian public.
There are economic groups, however, that prefer to wait for the full development of our regulatory framework. In the meantime, they remain distant from providing the service in Brazil and the State stops collecting it.
In the past, we have seen draft decrees from the Ministry of Economy that regulated sports betting, provided for in Law No. 13,756 / 2018. Unfortunately, there was no support for approval and adherence of the solutions proposed by the government to the intentions and practices of the market. We expect the privatization of the modality, through the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI), to occur as soon as possible.
Despite being under discussion in the political arena for years, gambling has not yet been legalized. What do you think Brazil needs to finally join developed countries and regularize this activity?
I believe that the main reason is related to the lack of decision about the economic paradigm that should govern the matter. Public and private agents did not reach an agreement on the developmental or liberal assumptions that should guide a general framework of the gaming sector in Brazil or the regulation of some specific modalities.
This indecision is explicit when we discuss (i) the appropriateness of limiting the number of licenses for sports betting and possibly bidding them or (ii) whether we must accredit all operators that meet normative criteria; it is also present when we debate (i) whether it is up to the State to appoint the regions that are authorized for the installation of casinos or (ii) whether this decision should be attributed exclusively to the private investor.
I believe in the emergence of a Brazilian regulatory model built on global good practices.
The issue of state lotteries has been hotly debated recently. What are the advantages for the citizen and for the state in the opening of new state lotteries in the country?
There are any number of advantages: generation of tax revenue, new sources of financing for public causes, creation of jobs, increased competition, modernization of lottery modalities, offer of new leisure options, expansion of responsible gambling policies, promotion of integrity measures, attraction of foreign investment.
Undoubtedly, the matrix of multiple federal, state, district and municipal lotteries will bring great challenges for operationalization and market sustainability.
How do you see the future of the gaming sector in Brazil? Do you imagine that, in legal terms, it is promising?
In recent years, we have seen initiatives by the Executive, Legislative, Judiciary, private sector, and civil society that, incidentally and even concurrently, have advanced the regulation of some issues.
However, the lack of planning and clear guidance on the direction of regulation causes damage to the image of the Brazilian market. There are national and foreign investors who are hesitant about where and when to act; several have already lost resources and political capital by betting on routes that did not work.
The transparent consolidation of our regulatory framework, whether by law or by private arrangements, conveys greater legal certainty, diversifies entertainment, expands collection, attracts investing capital, and generates jobs.
Source: Exclusive GMB
