Brazil: The future of the gambling market

Regulation of private gambling. What, how and when?

If in the future a gambling law will be performed in order to regulate the prívate gambling activity in Brazil, it has to be performed well, because the country can be aware of what has been done in other countries and which have been the formats that have succeeded and which have failed.

Recently, the debate has increased, and there are new initiatives that bring expectation. In the last two years we have known many movements, projects, debates, drafts approved in commission.

The norm to be developed must regulate illegal gaming, because the administration has not succeeded in controlling or eradicating it.

A variety of products and a complete content must be offered in both traditional and online channels. The offer has to adjust to the needs and objectives, and private gambling must be based in a transparent norm and process, in compliance with the defense of operators, administration, protection and guarantee of consumers.

On top of a complete and balanced offer, there has to be a demand in requirements, transparency and objetivity of the administration, applying a tax system according to a sustainable activity, which absorbs the greatest volume of the national gaming demand, which is now illegal, and has to be regulated.

The main aim of the Brazilian gambling market should be to eradicate illegal gambling and achieve a regulated and controlled environment, an activity that has billions of dollars without control for any of the involved parties: the administration, the tax system and consumers.

Private gaming already exists in Brazil and is being performed without control in every aspect, despite the ban, so authorities must realize that the debate of legalizing or not legalizing gambling leads nowhere but consolidating illegal gaming.

Gambling must be treated as a normal activity, considering all the precautions and aspects that must be controlled, habilitating the activity so each one can comply with the demands and bringing benefit to all the parties involved, something that does not happen nowadays.

It is not a fact of approving a minimum number of casinos or a jurisdictional division on departments or states; casinos must be installed on places that are profitable, and leaving private initiative to determine its characteristics, dimension and content of the offer, as well as with bingo halls; its rational installation should prevail.

With regard to online channels, gambling and online betting, a sustainable norm must be established, with a complete and competitive offer, because in Brazil there is already a big offshore offer of online gaming without guarantee or benefit for the state; taking measures in order to prevent the illegal offer to continue once the activity is regulated.

Finally, a gambling fee must be rational, depending on the gaming segment between 10 and 15%, based on gross gaming income. The tax fee must allow companies to have a sustainable business.

The norm has to be serious and well defined, and the agency in charge of its regulation and compliance must be transparent.

Regulators, supervisors, operators and players must be transparent. Not only a responsible gambling policy must be applied, but also they must be responsible in applying a gambling policy.