Associations in the sports betting sector criticized the exclusion of online casino games from the project that regulates betting in Brazil. The text was approved in the Senate Plenary this Tuesday, 12th.
The agenda will therefore return to the Chamber of Deputies for a final vote. Well, the project was changed by the senators.
According to Máquina do Esporte, the Federal Government intends to coordinate with the President of the House, Arthur Lira, so that the vote on the project takes place urgently, before the parliamentary recess.
This is because tax collection from the sector is part of the budget planned for next year.
“It was really bad. Basically, they will regulate 30% of the market, which only has sports betting. Today, 70% of operators operate with online games. The vast majority offer both”, analyzed André Gelfi, president of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming (IBJR), one of the associations in the betting sector.
André Gelfi claimed that, if the amendment by senator Carlos Portinho (PL-RJ) is sanctioned, most bookmakers that currently operate in the country from abroad will not be interested in regulating themselves.
Thus, the amendment was approved by 37 votes in favor and 27 against.
“We will have 75% to 80% of the market unregulated, with a lack of control, unlimited gambling, among other problems. It is a very bad decision for the organization of the iGaming market as a whole”, he declared.
According to Wesley Cardia, president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), the parliamentarians who supported the removal of online casinos from the text, in fact, voted in favor of an illegal market.
“Not voting for regulation is helping to maintain illegal gambling,” he emphasized.
ANJL issues official note against the exclusion of casinos
Furthermore, the ANJL issued an official note commenting on the vote in the Senate Plenary this Wednesday, 13th. “By excluding online games from the regulation of sports betting, the possibility of significant tax collection is left out of the law”.
“In addition, the lack of regulations allows illegal websites to continue operating outside the rules established by the Ministry of Finance. It harms supervision and maintains insecurity for bettors, leaving them at the mercy of irresponsible and abusive gambling practices”, says the statement.
One of the main associations in the betting sector, ANJL now hopes that the situation will be reversed by deputies. “ANJL hopes that the Chamber of Deputies corrects this omission by the Federal Senate, also bringing online games into the realm of legality and good regulation.”
“To be against the regulation of gambling, a practice widely spread in Brazilian society, is to be in favor of the continuity of illegal and irresponsible gambling in the country, to the detriment of the most vulnerable part of the equation, the Brazilian citizen.”
