The lawyer and vice president of the Brazilian Institute of Sports Law, Mariana Chamelette, admitted to GMB that it is absurd for the sports betting market to move more than R$6 billion (US$ 1.1b) and the government not see this in the form of taxes and society in the form of formalized jobs. “We need to regulate soon for Brazil to get out of the limbo in which the lack of regulation of Law 13,756/18 finds itself,” she said.
GMB – How is, in your opinion, the current situation of the regulation of sports betting?
Mariana Chamelette – The market is very anxious to know whether or not the deadline for publishing the decree will be met and how it will turn out. With regard to football in general and especially in the area in which I work, which is the prevention of match-fixing, that rules be placed and maintained that determine the monitoring in order to protect the unpredictability of the sport.
The issue of manipulation of results is always a concern, to offer the user, the bettor, a game and a fair bet!
Yes. This is essential for the maintenance of the sport, the bets and even not to harm the bookmakers. So, that there is a regulation foreseeing the fight against manipulation of results, because the game has to be clean and fair also for the bettor.
What assessment do you make of the current moment in the sports betting industry? There is great growth, but so what?
It's the million dollar question. Expectations are high with each passing day about the release of the final regulation. We need to regulate sports betting soon for Brazil to get out of the limbo in which the lack of regulation of Law 13.756/18 finds itself.
When the regulation comes, do you believe that all operators will regularize themselves or will some stay in this current gray area?
I believe there are those who will remain in the gray area. It will depend on how this regulation will come about so that the market becomes attractive to bookmakers as well.
A fair game also depends on fiscal, tax and even institutional regularity..
Clearly. The lack of regulation harms the State, which is taking time to regulate.
Isn't it absurd that we see R$6 billion in sports betting and the government doesn't see it in the form of taxes and society in the form of formalized work cards?
It is essential to regulate sports betting as soon as possible to get out of this limbo and get an adequate market adapted to what we see in other countries of the world, such as England, for example.
We see that most bookmakers have the online casino as one of their verticals. How will these companies work with the regulation?
We are looking forward to the eventual legalization of casino gambling as well. The expectation is that it will come this way or that the Federal Supreme Court will judge a general repercussion that has been stalled for so long and that the practice of gambling is or is not a criminal misdemeanor.
How do you see the progress of this general repercussion?
Is stopped. It had been on the agenda, but was removed from it by the president of the STF, Luiz Fux. Since then, there has been no news of its return.
Are the sports betting companies in operation legally prepared to comply with the draft regulation released by the GMB?
I believe that the bookmakers that will want to work legally are already preparing themselves for this, are being well advised and that we will go the best way to ensure that, when the regulation arrives, things are fully legal, although they are already operating legally under the Law 13.756/18, despite not being hosted in Brazil yet. In other words, they operate legally and all that remains is to bring the money to Brazil, which will be beneficial to society as a whole.
Source: Exclusive GMB
