The regulation of sports betting has been a matter for the government, the Senate and the House, the market and the millions of bettors who test their ability to predict outcomes in their favorite sports.
The main companies operating in Brazil, national and foreign, have defended for years that the sector be regulated. For one simple reason: the regulation will purify the segment, allow for deep control by the State over taxes, remittances abroad, exclusion of minors, among other significant issues.
Denying the existence of this type of betting is covering the sun with a sieve. Today, thousands of websites operate in Brazil without the authorities' control. It is estimated that after regulation, the government will license between 50 and 100 bookmakers to operate in the country. The fact that Law 13,756/2018 instituted the “fixed odds betting” modality is not the cause of possible manipulation of results.
The non-regulation of an activity is no guarantee that it will not exist. Its absence will only make room for unregulated gambling to continue to exist. And hard. The “no game” hypothesis is utopian and unrealistic.
Uncontrolled gambling allows dysfunction to remain hidden under the cloak of illegitimacy. This is what, ultimately, naively defend those who act against the regulation of the activity. In the meetings of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) with authorities, it is repeated to exhaustion: “Whoever is against regulation is in favor of illegal gambling.”
Every betting modality is based on the mathematical principle of probabilities. Powerful analysis tools suggest apportionments to be paid (odds). Companies rely on this to ensure that, as the modality's conceptualization itself establishes, the bettor wins the odd in effect at the time of the bet.
When someone says that bookmakers are colluding with match-fixing, it is utterly contradictory. It is exactly the opposite: such criminals are focused precisely on “breaking the bank”. Who pays the bill for a faked result is the house, in addition to the bettor who predicted a plausible result, and not a preposterous one. Both are victims of fraud.
The legality of the sports betting activity is unquestionable, but the need for regulation that defines all the rules for the actors involved is urgent.
The market is discussing, in a transparent manner, with the government and other sectors, about the need to regulate the activity, as it understands that clear rules will bring legal certainty, investments, taxes and jobs.
The ANJL has promoted frank and open debates, with the whole of society, regarding an activity that is so important for the country's economic growth, with a great capacity for tax collection, in this challenging time that we are experiencing.
Contrary opinions are timely and welcome, as long as they are based on facts and reliable information.
Wesley Callegari Cardia
Executive President of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL)
