The creation of a lottery was the subject of a public hearing at the City Council of Aracaju (SE), this Friday (6). The bill that aims to create a municipal lottery in the capital of Sergipe, Locaju. The proposal was approved in the first discussion on May 8 and must go through a new round of voting.
The meeting on Friday was attended by the Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism of the State (Fecomércio), the Association of Christian Business Leaders (ADCE) and the Association of Catholic Jurists of Aracaju (Ajucat). The idea of the public hearing was filed by councilman Lúcio Flávio (PL), deputy leader of the city council in the House, who is against the creation of the lottery.
Lúcio Flávio spoke out on his social media. “The people of Aracaju do not need more gambling. Everyone knows of people who are having problems because of gambling,” he said.
Aracajú lottery revenue directed to social areas
Following the position of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), the Archdiocese of Aracaju also expressed its opposition to the creation of the municipal lottery.
According to the author of the bill, councilor Isac Silveira (União), the intention is for the municipality’s public lottery service to generate revenue directed to priority social areas, such as health, education and social assistance.
Silveira argues that Locaju has the potential to generate millions of reais in revenue for Aracaju. Silveira also stated that the creation of the local lottery follows a trend in the country of implementing similar services in several Brazilian cities and states.
“This is a dispute over resources. The state has already taken action, and municipalities also have this right. We are talking about a legal, transparent lottery, focused on the public interest and social justice,” said the author of the bill.
The state of Sergipe has its own public lottery service, Lotese, administered by the Banco do Estado de Sergipe (Banese).
The state lottery was launched on May 26th and offers more than 600 types of gambling games in different formats. In addition, these include fixed-odds bets, numerical predictions and scratch cards.
According to bank professionals, the products made available to the population online are restricted to people who are georeferenced in Sergipe. Lotese will also offer video lottery terminals (VLT).
The company will set up a location to host lottery draws called Espaço Lotese, in Arraiá do Povo, on Orla de Atalaia, in Aracaju. The gaming machines will later be made available at other locations.
