“The Ministry of Economy was present at the Brazilian iGaming Summit and said that they are analyzing technical aspects and listening to the market to adjust the rules of sports betting. Well, we've had a law passed for almost four years, waiting for regulation and there is talk of listening. Listen what? Almost 80 years ago the casinos were closed and now a law is shelved in the Senate. This shows how far behind we are, and I think voters should say no to all those who impede the progress of a rich economic activity with great social impact,” said Paulo Saad, president of Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação, one of the most important media firms in Brazil
For Saad, today gaming is everywhere in Brazil, even in the bars on the corner and no one pays taxes or contributes to the country with formal jobs, “while we see this important industry, all over the world, doing this and attracting tourists in several jurisdictions where there are casinos in large resorts, as well as tourist casinos and gaming machine halls,” he said.
Roberto Regianini, CCO of FBM, reinforced that no one benefits from the lack of regulation of the sector. “The government does not collect taxes, formal jobs do not happen and tourism is stagnant,” he commented, recalling that for a long time the regulation of sports betting was discussed, at the same time as the legalization of other types of games, such as casinos, bingos and jogo do bicho. “There are more than 500 thousand jobs that are no longer being generated. It is time for us to put Brazil at the forefront and bring the entertainment industry to our country,” he highlighted.
Saad invited Regianini to talk about the importance of compliance with a view to combating money laundering. The executive highlighted that all over the world there is a lot of technology available and operators adopt these practices and are very well controlled. “It is possible to control the entire gaming operation online and monitor the sector's financial movement in real-time,” he guaranteed.
Iuri Castro, Undersecretary of Advocacy for Competition and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy, accompanying the panel, was asked how much the Ministry has been following this issue. He said that “Brazil is working towards maintaining the best international practices of responsible gaming, including the fight against money laundering.” For him, the government is very focused on the regulation of sports betting, “but we can migrate the knowledge we acquire to other types of games, covered by the bill being discussed in the Senate, when time comes.”
Saad added that Brazil is delayed in addressing the issue of sports betting and gaming in general. “We are one of the few countries in Latin America that still does not have a legal and official operation. This is unfortunate, as you can see the strength of the sector with sports betting acting very actively in the country without contributing to taxes and formal jobs.”
Regianini recalled that Brazil is one of the 10 largest economies in the world and it is high time to stop being the 'ugly duckling' that does not have the technical conditions to control the sector. “Brazil cannot miss the tram of history. With all the technological advances, there is no reason to speak of a lack of technical competence to regulate the sector,” he concluded.
Source: Exclusive GMB
