The government is finalizing a provisional measure aimed at regulating and taxing companies and bettors on sports websites as one of the measures to increase revenue and sustain the goals of the new fiscal framework. The president of the Instituto Brasileiro Jogo Legal (IBJL), Magno José Santos addressed the issue in a recent interview with Jornal da Tarde, on TV Cultura.
The taxation will be part of an PM prepared by the Ministry of Finance. The regulation of the measure goes through the approach of sensitive issues, such as the manipulation of betting sites on football match results, and the easy access of children and adolescents to bets.
“We went through the entire Jair Bolsonaro government without the measure being regulated by the Ministry of Finance. The State cannot fail to regulate a law passed by Congress. betting”, declared Magno José Santos.
“The legislation passed in 2018 allowed these platforms to offer games in Brazil, advertise and sponsor football teams because sports betting is not prohibited in Brazil. It is legal, but not regulated”, he added.
The IBJL president also mentioned the need to create clear rules so that bettors feel protected. “Based on the regulation, the government will not only tax the activity, it will start collecting money from the activity, which I think is very fair. But the government will create rules, rules so that the gambler feels protected by the State. Example: you will create rules for advertising, what types of sponsorships can be made, rules for responsible gaming, that is, people will be able to set limits that they can bet daily, weekly and monthly”.
“In addition, the government will be able to create a public policy to be able to minimize or mitigate the social impacts that this activity will or can generate, that it has been generating and without any counterpart. The State will be able to define and increase the penalties for those athletes who come to participate in match fixing”, he explained.
Betting regulations will help curb match-fixing
For Magno José Santos, the regulation of the betting sector is crucial to fight the manipulation of results and duly punish those involved. “Match manipulation has existed for many years, it is observed in several countries around the world. Sports federations and bookmakers have agreements with risky companies, these companies point out exactly when there is a suspicion of manipulation in that match”, he pointed out.
“When that happens, the site removes the game from its grid and the federation facilitates the investigation. Only regulation can shed light and improve this environment so that we have a fair game”, he concluded.
Check out Magno José Santos’ full interview with Jornal da Tarde
