Senator Angelo Coronel (PSD-BA), rapporteur of the project in the Brazilian Senate, believes that Bill 3626/2023 that regulates sports betting and online gambling in the country, will be approved next week and once again criticized the position of some senators opposed to the matter.
“What surprises us a lot is that there are colleagues who are against this regulation of online betting. It even seems like we are inventing some kind of game. We are not inventing anything, we want to legalize what is there, because in the 2018 law, still under Temer’s government, this law on sports betting was approved. We are now regulating them to come out of hiding and thus generate resources for the Union’s coffers,” declared Coronel.
“But there are senators against it. I think they are more in favor of clandestinity than of regulating this market, let's say, products that generate taxes for Brazil. What would be the interests of not leading to regulation? Because it seems to me that even the sector itself, to some extent, is in favor of this regulation, which ends up bringing more formalization,” he reinforced.
Coronel also said that the various types of online sports betting are included. “And, in fact, when we put online games, there is evidence of a casino, there are several modalities. But, instead of going to a physical location, you will play on your cell phone, which is the normal practice today. You are at home, you play, you are in your office, if you want, you play. So, that's what online games are for, to make it easier for lovers of this practice, let's consider it sports,” assessed the senator.
“Now, what surprises us is that there are fellow senators who are, I repeat, against this regulation. I keep asking: why do they want to go underground? Because gaming already exists. No one will be able to stop this practice. It is impossible today for you to use police repression to prevent the person in his house from playing at an online casino; I don't know, in any modality.”
“How are you going to control it? Will the police invade your house to ban it? Are they going to invade your office to ban it? Will it arrest you on the street if you are simply playing with a cell phone? So I hope that they will soften their wits and join in with the vast majority who are in favor of regulating this practice in Brazil,” added Coronel, who guaranteed that the resources raised will have a definition for which areas will be invested.
For him, “it is hypocrisy on the part of some who think we are bringing something harmful to Brazilian society. I always ask myself: is Brazil the only country that is right in not having regulated gambling?”
Coronel reinforces that the one who will benefit from the regulation is the federal government, which will be able to receive new sources of resources to cover social programs. “We cannot miss this opportunity. We have already approved it and now we are going to endorse it and I have no doubt that Brazil will be one of the biggest areas for collecting revenue via online gaiming and sports betting.”
Source: GMB
