The decision of the Federal Supreme Court that allows state governments to explore lotteries as a source of fundraising is no longer so recent. In September 2020, the STF ruled that the exclusive exercise by the Union of lottery activities was unconstitutional.
The former monopoly can now be exercised concurrently by the States, and it is up to them to administer their own lotteries, applying the same rules already used by the Union.
Following the same reasoning, the National Congress has already been, in recent years, in a movement to regulate other lottery modalities: both “scratch card” - Law 13.155/15 - and sports betting - Law 13.756/2018 are now allowed by law. .
There emerged an important window of opportunity for the States: gaming, an activity historically linked to misdemeanor and organized crime, now appears as a substantial way of increasing revenue.
Currently, the collection of lotteries is around 0.2% of GDP, compared to a world average of 1%. With this growth potential, considering the state GDP, the Government of Sergipe alone could raise, this year, up to R$ 480 million.
This, surprisingly, without having to impose any new taxes either on the population or on any other economic activity. But then, what is missing in our state?
We need, in principle, the formulation of legislation that, in compliance with the provisions of federal laws, implements and regulates the functioning of this system in Sergipe in clear terms about how the lottery will be operated and, mainly, what will be the destination of the resources they generate.
We must be sensitive to the growing needs of the population, especially with regard to hunger and unemployment. Thus, I see that these extraordinary resources could be used in actions of social inclusion, and promotion of employment and income generation.
In the same way, the youth, previously co-opted into the illicit modalities of gaming, could benefit from these resources with investments in sports, culture and leisure - in addition to the new jobs that this activity will generate in its materialization by the State.
The so-called “games of chance” can indeed be great luck for Sergipe. This type of collection appears as one of the paths that can be followed so that our State continues to advance.
Jorginho Araujo,
Lawyer and pre-candidate for state deputy by the PSD
Source: JLPolítica
