GMB - Congratulations on your participation in the "Order and Progress" panel, which discussed Brazil at ICE London. Does Minas Gerais demonstrate with this that it is promoting "Progress"?
Ronan Moreira - I was very happy for the invitation from the ICE organizers to participate for the first time in the congress as a panelist. On the occasion, I was able to speak to the audience about the main movements that the Minas Gerais Lottery has been experiencing after the decisions of ADPF's 492 and 493 at the Federal Supreme Court.
Our business is growing every day, and our projects are constantly being presented to the market. We recently signed a contract with Consórcio Mineiro da Sorte, formed by SGI, IGT, and Saga. This gave us much more confidence and demonstrated that the State of Minas Gerais offers this to society. We have an austere government that has sought national and international investors and has provided support for the Minas Gerais Lottery to bring a large group to partner with us. The operation started in October, we already have scratch cards on the market, and soon we will also have the conventional lottery.
The Brazilian market is increasingly bustling, and it was mentioned in the panel that in March the door of the Ministry of Finance will be open for iGaming operators to submit their license applications, and the list of approved ones will be released by July. How do you see this moment in the sector?
This is a movement that the sector has been waiting for for almost five years. As I demonstrated on the panel, we intend to have total alignment with the federal government, and I believe that the exercise of material competence by the State cannot and should not exceed the government's norms. Therefore, I see this move that the federal government is making with great ease. It is very aligned with the movements that the Minas Gerais State Lottery is making and will continue to make.
The Union and the States must be well aligned to show the entire market that the legal uncertainties that we have lived with for many years in Brazil are over. This will bring new entrepreneurs and economic groups to Brazil because what we most want is to work in the regulated market, as this is the only way we will combat illegal gambling.
We have seen a lot of support from the Minas Gerais Lottery for social actions, such as the recent support for Civil Defense. Is this what the game represents?
That is the purpose of the Minas Gerais State Lottery. We generate resources to allocate them to social programs managed by the State Government. Over the last five years, the lottery has already allocated more than R$ 80 million to social programs distributed in the areas of health, public safety, and social development.
This program you mentioned brought food, comfort, and a little more dignity to the people and families affected by the rains. Over these last five years, investments have also been made in health, in combating the coronavirus pandemic, and other social development programs. One that caught our attention was the investments made with lottery funds to purchase equipment and supplies for the production of hygienic pads and disposable diapers within female prison complexes.
This meant that several inmates participated in the production of these materials and they supplied the women's prison complex, taking the burden off the State, which has to provide these materials. This gave dignity to the inmates, training them so that once they are free they can have a profession. In addition, it contributed to the remission of the sentence, since for every three days worked the prisoner has one day of remission. In other words, this investment is much more than fulfilling the purpose. He brings dignity to Minas Gerais society.
With regulation, do you believe more actions like this will come?
My role here is to build new relationships and get to know new providers and the most modern technologies. That's why we're at the OKTO booth, a company specializing in payment methods, and I've seen some innovations, such as facial recognition tools.
My participation here goes far beyond the panel, which I found extraordinary. It is also about providing exhibitors at the fair with information about the Minas Gerais Lottery and Minas Gerais, a state where economic development attracts a lot of attention. Our governor has sought to work on streamlining bureaucracy. The investors coming to Minas Gerais are providing more jobs, more income, and more taxes, which is the goal. The Minas Gerais Lottery also wants to participate and collaborate with the economic development of the State, seeking new partners, creating businesses, and bringing new lottery products and games for more entertainment to the citizens of Minas Gerais.
Did the Minas Gerais Lottery make a bold move in 2023 by launching the trademarked scratch card and sports betting?
Correct. In February 2023, the Minas Gerais Lottery was the first State Lottery to provide a secure and authorized platform for Minas Gerais bettors to have quality entertainment and safety in sports betting. But not only in this modality, but also in virtual scratch cards on the electronic channel and the game of numerical forecasts.
And we recently launched the physical scratch card. We brought back a product that is part of the culture of Minas Gerais. All the testimonials we have received from sales point owners and bettors remind us of the scratch cards from previous years. It's been a success, and we've already reached almost 1,000 registered sales points. The product is being very well received, with various options of values and different prizes, as well as a lot of advertising on back buses and radio media. In short, we are very optimistic about the continuity of this contract.
Source: Exclusive GMB
