Bet's fever
"Winning is good, but beating Argentina is much better." The classic slogan by announcer Galvão Bueno could not be used in this year's World Cup, which the Argentines finally won, but it was given an alternative version after TV Globo authorized it to enter the advertising world.
The unmistakable voice of Brazilian sports narration ended up in an advertisement for one of the many bookmakers that today dominate the Internet. In the argument of the advertising campaign, Galvão states that "Brazilians are born knowing how to cheer" and that is why they would be intimate with the world of betting.
In times of the World Cup, the universe of betting pools is something that excites Brazilians, even those who are not used to following football matches on a daily basis. With or without money involved, an accurate guess in a game between Ghana and South Korea becomes a reason for celebration and euphoria.
In this seductive world of betting, sports lotteries are already a long-standing phenomenon in Brazil, with different types of legalized betting linked to Caixa Econômica Federal. But, since 2018, Brazilian legislation has come to understand fixed-quota bets as a public service, in a category similar to lottery.
The differential of this modality is that it makes it clear to the bettor how much he can earn according to the quotation of the result he bet on. This quote is known as the "odd".
Billions at stake
Today, about four years after the law was passed, it is almost impossible to browse online without bumping into at least one advertisement for a virtual sportsbook. Almost all bring the term "bet" in the name to make it clear what it is about — both for the legislation and for those passionate about betting. In the face of so much advertising, an increase in demand is natural.
Projections released by Forbes in November indicated that US$ 160 billion should be moved in bets during this World Cup.
This high value is greater than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 11 countries participating in the tournament, according to data from the World Bank and local governments. Croatia and Morocco, who reached the semifinals of the tournament, are among those whose GDP is lower than the amount expected from betting.
The Croatians, who won third place in the competition, have an estimated GDP of US$ 67.84 billion, while the Moroccans have a GDP of US$ 132.73 billion.
Senegal, which advanced from the stage phase, but fell in the round of 16, also makes the list. The others — eliminated still in the group stage — are Ecuador, Wales, Ghana, Costa Rica, Serbia, Uruguay, Tunisia and Cameroon.
These numbers give just one dimension of the breadth of a market that has grown at a galloping rate in recent years. According to a projection made by the consultancy Sports Value, Brazilian gamblers moved around US$ 700 million in 2021.
Amir Somoggi, director of Sports Value, said in an interview with Sputnik Brasil that this projection was based on data from the international betting market. As the sector in Brazil is not yet regulated, it is not possible to monitor the exact amount that rotates in the country.
Between 2019 and 2021, this global betting market jumped from US$ 77 billion to US$ 131 billion. Supported by this projection, Somoggi points out that in a few years this market should reach US$ 200 billion.
Somoggi points out that the COVID-19 pandemic ended up accelerating the global betting market and this undoubtedly had an impact on Brazil. Another factor that affected the country was the release of sponsorships by bookmakers to football clubs. "Even if the headquarter is abroad, it has a marketing operation in Brazil," he pointed out.
“When Brazil regulates [fixed odds bets], revenue will grow a lot. [...] We see double-digit percentage growth every year in the world. US$ 700 million can reach US$ 1 billion and then [...] go to US$ 5 billion, US$ 5.5 billion, US$ 6 billion, US$ 7 billion... And there is a question of culture in this. Today the gambling culture is very specific to those who are online. When it becomes something like the lottery, it will reach an older audience. It has the potential to greatly leverage the numbers."
Somoggi says he is against betting, but stresses that they are already taking place, regulated or not: "I am against betting. I don't think they bring any benefit, they are entertainment and generate an addiction, like a casino. Brazil has millions of people playing in the online casino, and the government doesn't collect a single penny. So it doesn't make sense not to regulate."
"If you don't regulate and you already have this huge volume, regulating the government will gain a lot, both with taxes and with concessions. You have two types of public gain. First is the tax, but there are also the concessions that you can create and raise a lot," he said.
"Today the Brazilian government does not even see the color of this resource that is bet. In our account, we are talking about billions of dollars in the future in the Brazilian government's account, which it can use for various factors, including cases of addiction," he said.
Why is online betting not regulated? What does the law say?
The advancement of bookmakers in Brazil could only occur due to the approval of a provisional measure (MP) presented by former President Michel Temer (MDB) in 2018, which dealt primarily with the allocation of lottery funds for security public and culture.
Despite not appearing in the initial text presented by Temer, the National Congress ended up taking advantage of the processing of MP 846 to establish the creation of a new lottery modality: the fixed quota bet.
According to Law 13.756/2018, it "consists of a betting system related to real sports-themed events, in which it is defined, at the time of placing the bet, how much the bettor can win in case of a correct prediction."
According to former referee and former deputy Evandro Rogério Roman, who chaired the committee that considered MP 846, the inclusion of the issue of fixed odds bets came very naturally.
"Betting already existed all over the world. What we did was regularize it in Brazil. The sites were hosted abroad [and operated in Brazil]. We managed to regularize it, and today these bookmakers sponsor clubs, sponsor amateur sports," he points out.
The law, however, ended up not having a regulation, which leaves the performance of bookmakers with many loopholes. For Roman, this is an essential point to move forward. "The law responded well to the need at the time. What has failed is that the regulation has not been done. These 'bets' all emerged after the law, but are still in a rough sea, adrift."
This rough sea is precisely due to the lack of regulation and the legal loopholes that were left. According to the 2018 legislation, the Ministry of Economy had a period of two years to regulate the device, with the possibility of postponing it for another two years. Four years later, this has not been done.
"The current government took a while, but if it doesn't do it soon, it will start to cause problems. I hope that the next government will regularize it. Billions a year are being lost," he says. "Who cares not to regulate?" asks the former referee.
Also according to Law 13,576, "the lottery of fixed quota bets will be authorized or granted by the Ministry of Finance and will be operated exclusively in a competitive environment, with the possibility of being sold in any commercial distribution channels, physical and in virtual means." This concession, however, never took place, which puts virtual bookmakers in limbo.
Federal Deputy Felipe Carreras (PSB-PE), rapporteur of the legal framework for gambling (Bill 442/91) and member of the technical tourism group of the transitional cabinet of the president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), believes that it is necessary to move forward with the regulation of fixed odds betting and believes that Bill 442/91, if approved, can help resolve the issues that impede this process.
"The fixed quota was pending in its legislation of administrative infractions, which ends up making its regulation unfeasible. The law provides for exploitation as a public service, and, if there is no way to supervise activities, concessions may have practices that are not committed to an ecosystem balanced for this sector," he explained.
Carreras points out that online gaming is not provided for in this law and sees permission for the exploitation of this activity as "precarious": "The lack of regulation creates three factors for society to consider. The first is that there is no mechanism that defines responsible gaming, ethical gaming, which can lead to various problems, such as money laundering, match fixing and even non-payment to winners."
"The second problem is public health; by not identifying the players, we have no way of treating those who suffer from the so-called ludopathy. And, finally, we fail to raise funds for the execution of various public policies," says Carreras.
Questioned by the report about the absence of this type of betting in the text approved in the Chamber of Deputies on Bill 442/91, Carreras explained that he started from the understanding that the topics addressed are different.
"We maintain the understanding that fixed-quota betting must continue as a public service, as is the case with lotteries. All other modalities [bingos, casinos, Jogo do Bicho] we approve as private services of public interest, which could increase the dynamism of the market and make it easier for the public authorities to sanction any misconduct that falls outside the definition of responsible gaming," he said.
Even so, the parliamentarian points out that the Bill can speed up the regulation of bets. "We took advantage of the opportunity to work on a text about games and included administrative infractions in it. If the Senate approves the text that the Chamber approved, the Executive Branch will be able to effectively implement the concessions for exploiting the fixed quota."
Carreras also confirmed to Sputnik that he works for Bill 442/91 to be prioritized by the transition: "I understand that it is of paramount importance for the promotion of tourism in Brazil, firstly by expanding the form of tourist exploitation through integrated casinos of resorts and for the specific destination, through the CIDE-Jogos [tribute on the exploitation of the games], of resources for Embratur [the Brazilian tourism agency]," he said.
The parliamentarian projects that the potential of the gaming market in Brazil would make the country collect around R$ 20.4 billion (US$ 3.9b). This issue, however, generates controversy with Lula's party, the PT, which voted against Bill 442/91 in the Chamber of Deputies. The legend believes that the liberalization of gambling will increase the concentration of income in the country, which goes against the grain of the new government.
The project also suffers resistance from other sectors, who see that the release encourages addiction and facilitates the commission of crimes. In May, the Parliamentary Front for a Brazil without Gambling was created in the Federal Senate, with the aim of trying to stop the proposal.
Source: Sputnik Brasil
