The president of the Paraná State Lotteries (Lottopar), Daniel Romanowski, addressed issues related to the impasse between municipal, state and federal lotteries, the processing of the famous Casinos Bill and the progress of his agency’s operations.
“Lottopar (the Paraná State Lottery) is currently undergoing expansion. We have our operators, and the burden of expanding the points of sale falls on their shoulders. This is the first year of the concession, and they are working hard to reach every corner of the state,” he explained.
For him, this expansion represents economic growth in Paraná, with another market developing. “We raised over R$60 million and promoted legal gambling. I think the main impact is bringing these figures into the economy,” he emphasized.
Municipal, state and federal lotteries
Romanowski also commented on the impasse involving the various lottery sectors in Brazil. “State lotteries can indeed help states, especially those with the most deficits. For them, this free money would be very useful for improvements without increasing taxes. There’s nothing against municipal lotteries, should they have a specific legal instrument,” he stated.
“Today we live in a time when some experts are trying to find loopholes within the laws that were passed to regulate municipalities. As a public administrator, I would not advise the mayors of these municipalities to establish [lotteries], because they could be held accountable for their actions,” he added.
He also advised potential investors against investing in this market. “If I had funds to invest in this market, I wouldn’t invest them in this line related to municipalities. If municipalities receive this recognition, we may be the first country on the planet to have municipalities regulating lotteries. All other countries are state or federal, precisely to make lotteries viable.”
However, the Lottopar president pointed out that some large cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, and Belo Horizonte have the infrastructure to provide these services. However, this isn’t the case nationwide. “We’re not just talking about large municipalities. We’re talking about small ones too.”
Casinos Bill
In Daniel Romanowski’s view, land-based casinos and bingo halls would not directly compete with lotteries. This is because there is a bill, the infamous Casino Bill, currently under consideration in the Senate, which proposes the legalization of these land-based gaming establishments.
“It will be more beneficial. There will be different types of entertainment. We will have one or two per state, and it will be restricted to those who can travel to those locations. I think we already have mechanisms in place to bring this about in a healthy and monitored manner. I think it doesn’t compete; it adds to the entertainment. These are new forms of entertainment that the population will be able to choose from,” he concluded.
