Senators Jorge Kajuru (PS-GO), Eduardo Girão (Novo-CE) and Paulo Paim (PT-RS) took turns leading the debate in the Senate’s Sports Commission (CEsp) on the betting regulation.
The public hearing took place on Monday, 23. Kajuru is vice-president of CEsp, where the rapporteur of the bill that regulates fixed-odd sports betting (PL 3.626/2023) is senator Romário (PL-RJ).
The proposal establishes rules for authorizing the operation of betting systems, for advertising these games and for the allocation of taxes on revenue, among other measures.
Kajuru said he will be the rapporteur for the project when it is considered in the Senate Plenary.
While Girão requested that the project also be analyzed by the Human Rights (CDH) and Social Affairs (CAS) commissions. “It will have a violent impact on the health of Brazilians in the medium and long term,” said Girão.
Representing the Ministry of Finance, José Francisco Manssur stated that the sector had great growth in the last five years, earning more than R$100 billion during this period, but without paying taxes, as there is no legal regulation.
Combat match-fixing in sport
The general secretary of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Alcino Reis Rocha, agreed that the issue of sports betting impacts public health and has implications for consumer rights, for example.
He asked the Senate to improve the text of the bill that provides for the regulation of betting so that there are instruments to combat the manipulation of results.
The president of the Brazilian Confederation of Games and Esports, Paulo Roberto Ribas, informed that Brazil “is the third largest world power in Esport”, with 110 million players and annual revenue of R$2.7 billion.
He recognized that problems such as a sedentary lifestyle and excessive screen time are a reality around the world and need to be tackled. “Simply prohibiting it will not be a solution, it is better that it be regulated and monitored,” said Ribas.
‘Regulated tolerance’
In the same vein, Federal Police delegate Alessandro Maciel Lopes opined that a total ban on sports betting will not solve the problems.
For him, the best solution may be “regulated tolerance”, so that the State can monitor and inspect betting and possible criminal diversion.
According to him, betting has been used for financial crimes, such as currency evasion and money laundering.
The delegate defended that foreign betting companies are required to have an office in Brazil and that they have to securely store bettors’ data and provide this data when requested by the courts to combat crimes.
Betting regulation can help curb excessive gambling
Betting addiction causes harm to a person’s general health, said psychologist Ana Yaemi Hayashiuchi, a specialist in impulse disorders.
According to Agência Senado, she said that this type of addiction affects physical, financial, social and mental health, hinders professional performance, can lead a person to bankruptcy and, in most cases, also harms family members.
“Gaming addiction is behavioral. Like chemical addiction, it’s difficult for a person to have control, once it starts they don’t want to stop”, summarized the psychologist.
The president of the Ceará Psychiatric Association, Fábio Gomes de Matos e Souza, reported that, according to recent studies, gambling disorder affects 0.5% to 1% of the countries’ population, that is, in Brazil it would be between 1 and 2 million people in this condition.
The doctor defended that part of the future taxes paid by bets be allocated to specialized areas of the Unified Health System (SUS).
In turn, the president of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association, Rodrigo Alves, assessed that the regulation of sports betting “is extremely necessary”, but criticized the text of PL 3,626/2023 approved by the Chamber.
Furthermore, he suggested that Brazil model itself on countries that have already regulated sports betting.
Other participants
Also participating were professor at the University of Brasília (UnB) Pedro Ivo Velloso Cordeiro; senators Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) and Leila Barros (PDT-DF); Antônio Edvando Elias de França, from the Public Ministry of Ceará; the president of the National Lottery Association, Bruno Lobato; the federal deputy Prof. Paulo Fernando (Republicanos-DF); the president of the CBF Arbitration Commission, Wilson Luiz Seneme; doctor Hermano Tavares, from the Pathological Gambling Outpatient Program at the University of São Paulo (USP); the president of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, André Pereira Cardoso Gelfi, and others.
The public hearing was requested by senators Girão, Cleitinho (Republicanos-MG), Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ), Kajuru and Zequinha Marinho (Podemos-PA).
