In September 2020, I had the opportunity to give an interview to a website specializing in the gaming industry. The topic of the conversation was: “Gambling regulation will be an invaluable engine in the recovery of post-covid-19 Brazilian cities.” Well then. It's already 2023 and the federal government, in the previous management, did nothing. The new government has the decision to face.
It must be remembered that responsible gambling generates employment, income and taxes. Efficient regulation is the formula for success, while prohibition leads to clandestinity, informal jobs, tax evasion and corruption.
Since 1946, gambling has been banned in Brazil. At the time, 53,200 jobs were lost, most of these jobs were not even in “gaming” environments, strictly speaking. Thousands of professionals were laid off, most of them artists and hotel and restaurant workers. In 2004, when bingos were closed, the country lost 120,000 jobs. As time passes, the gaming industry becomes even more job-generating.
In terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), legalized gambling generates a substantial increase. Japan regulated the casinos, having an increase of 1% in the GDP – a GDP of 5 trillion dollars. Not forgetting that other games (such as Pachinko) involve 3% to 4% of GDP in that country.
Let's update some data. The legalization of responsible gambling in Brazil would generate approximately 500,000 new jobs. Not to mention tax collection. Only the jogo do bicho – the illegal game most loved by Brazilians – moves almost R$ 12 billion (US$ 2.35b) a year. Added with bingos, slot machines and other illegal bets, it reaches R$ 20 billion (US$ 3.9b). No tax collected. Here is the result of maintaining the ban. Loss of income and with workers condemned to informality. Sports betting is another niche that needs better treatment. Even if legalization is defended by Law 13,756, regulation is still lacking.
The regulation and compliance systems in the gambling industry abroad have already reached enough maturity to remove any stereotypes related to criminal activities or the idea of drug use. Another concern in the world is to prevent the movement of money laundering for cartels or terrorist activities, for example. There are safe rules in comparative law for such inspection and combat.
Legalization brings revenue by charging for the granting of licenses. In addition to the concession or authorization fee, there is taxation. The main stakeholders are the municipalities, as it is a question of taxation of services (ISS is a municipal tax).
All this income could very well contemplate increases in public expenditure, such as that arising from the creation of the nursing floor, or recovering areas affected by environmental disasters, as was the case of Rio Doce, a fact that so drastically affected Espírito Santo.
Legalized gambling is the solution. The problem is clandestinity.
Luiz Henrique Antunes Alochio
Lawyer, PhD in City Law (UERJ), Master in Tax Law (UCAM), researcher and visiting professor at Florida State University and municipal attorney of Vitória (ES).
Source: A Gazeta
