The Ministry of Treasury hopes to rely on the Central Bank to monitor the betting industry. Prizes and Betting Secretary, Regis Dudena, said that one of the objectives of this investigation is to examine the relationship between the company and the financial institution authorized by the monetary authority.
The Federal Police and Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) are also entities that should help in this process, said Dudena.
Ministry of Treasury will have interministerial collaboration
The PF and Anatel will be responsible for taking down websites that are not authorized to operate in the country. “We have planned interaction with Anatel, with the Federal Police, with security departments, to ensure that the websites that are being made available, which are not on the authorized list, are taken down”, stated Régis Dudena.
Furthermore, the secretariat wants to measure the size of the betting market. Companies authorized to operate in Brazil will be required to provide reports and monitoring the financial system should help achieve this objective.
“We will have direct contact with these companies and we will know, in fact, the size of the financial volumes, the size of the number of bettors who are engaged. So it is only from this moment on that we, as regulatory bodies in this sector, will have this exact number”, added Dudena.
A private sector study that says the size of the betting market should not serve as a parameter for the government. The secretary emphasized that the idea of the Treasury is to have its own mapping of the market.
“Obviously there are different estimates and these estimates are often different from each other because they consider very different things,” added Dudena.
Régis Dudena mentioned the creation of a working group at the Ministry of Health to address the issue of betting. According to him, one of the main tasks is a campaign on gambling addiction.
The authorities are studying how to prepare a booklet on the topic. The idea is for the two ministries to exchange information to develop common policies.
Treasury will allocate resources to the Ministry of Sports
The secretary hopes to promote actions aimed at the SUS (Unified Health System) and seeks to strengthen initiatives linked to public health. “This allows us to share our information with the Ministry of Health so that the system can increase its capacity to serve all those who have gambling problems,” he said.
The Prizes and Betting Secretariat considers the Ministry of Sports to be a strategic partner in its actions. The ministry must allocate part of the revenue from online betting to actions that encourage sports practices and healthy habits.
Asked about the transfer of resources and whether there would be a chance of privileges for certain sports, the secretary transferred responsibility to the Ministry of Sports. He stated that the group may consider ways to make distribution fair.
“In fact, how the resources allocated to sport will be used is the responsibility of the [Ministry of] Sport. It seems to me that it will make the best possible use, including, eventually, making these compensations”, he pointed out.
Advertising and betting taxes
The government leader in Congress, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), presented a bill to ban betting advertising. A measure like this could harm Brazilian clubs, considering that the company is a sponsor.
Régis Dudena stated that he will follow the decisions approved by Congress. According to him, the senator did not discuss the issue with the secretaries of the Ministry of Finance. “If the National Congress, sovereignly, deems it necessary to make changes, we will have to deal with these changes, once they are approved by Congress and sanctioned,” he said.
Another topic being debated in Congress is tax reform. The document approved by the Chamber of Deputies establishes the role of the “sin tax” in betting. In other words, this will imply payment for these products.
The text is currently under analysis in the Senate, which may make changes to it. Dudena understands the economic impact this type of tax can have on the betting sector.
“It seems obvious to think that, from an economic point of view, this has an impact on the sector. Considering that it is the provision of a remunerated service and that the companies’ interest is to have a positive result, any tax imposition will generate an economic effect”, he concluded.
