Ways to combat illegal gambling sites operating in Brazil and responsible advertising for games were discussed by the president of ANJL. These topics were on the agenda of two meetings held by the president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), Plínio Lemos Jorge, in Brasília, with important organizations in the country’s communications sector.
The first meeting took place at the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (Abert), which represents more than three thousand press outlets.
Plínio then visited the Brazilian Radio and Television Association (Abratel), which brings together hundreds of broadcasters. On that occasion, he was accompanied by ANJL’s legal director, Pietro Cardia Lorenzoni.
“We are about to complete three months of regulated market. We have new legislation, understandings to be made and demands that arise from this reality. One of them, without a doubt, is the participation of the communications sectors in this network to combat betting companies that operate clandestinely in the country.
The projection of this industry, which operates illegally, happens largely through advertising. Curbing this publicity will contribute to the sustainability of the sector that pays taxes and operates with the approval of the federal government,” said the president of ANJL.
Associations against illegality
At the meeting with Abert, the conversation was with president Flávio Lara Resende, general director Cristiano Lobato Flôres and manager of Legislative Affairs Gabriel Pena Costa. Lara Resende emphasized that, with the regulation, advertising becomes an important way of promoting responsible gaming and regular activity.
“The cooperation of the various sectors of the economy and public authorities is essential to work together to develop and improve effective rules and measures that seek to strengthen responsible gaming and combat illegal activity.
As the regulation is recent, a maturation process is natural, and we hope that the betting sector will increasingly contribute to the economy, job creation and taxes”, stated the president of Abert.
The president of Abratel, Márcio Novaes, reinforced that the association is fully committed to supporting regulated betting companies in Brazil.
“The regularization process in the National Congress was correct, transparent and within democratic norms. And, nothing is fairer than endorsing this initiative. Especially because they support sports and football, which is the greatest national passion and has the largest audience in Brazil.”
We are together, supporting all these companies that are within the rules of the game,” he said. Novaes was accompanied by Record’s director of journalism, Roberto Munhoz, and Abratel’s coordinator of Government Relations, Lindemberg Portela.
Blocking illegal websites
In the last five months alone, the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) has requested the blocking of more than 12,000 illegal betting sites. The president of ANJL points out that it is not possible to talk about official data, because this is an illegal sector. However, the diversion of tax revenue from this industry amounts to billions of reais.
He stressed that authorized sportbooks will generate approximately R$20 billion in tax revenue for the Federal Government each year, in addition to 60,000 new jobs over the next five years.
