In an exclusive interview with GMB, the president of the National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL), Plínio Lemos Jorge, highlighted the correct decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) not to vote for the unconstitutionality of the sector. According to him, the hearing held at the Court provided the ministers with subsidies. He stated that ANJL now wants to bring the same information to the entire society so that they do not listen to the lies that are spread.
Games Magazine Brasil – Brazil is on the eve of starting the regulated operation of sports betting and online games, but so far no definitive list of authorized operators has been released, only individual notifications to operators. How do you see this?
Plínio Lemos Jorge –
Our expectation is that a list will be published soon. Operators are already being notified to comply with the payment of the grant fee.
What are the difficulties from now until the regulated market starts?
It is now the period for collecting the R$ 30 million fee, a substantial amount, plus R$ 5 million in guarantees. From there, the Ministry of Finance should consolidate the information and release the definitive authorization by December 31st so that companies can start operating from January 1st.
Do you believe this deadline will be met?
Our expectation is that it will be met. The Ministry is working hard. We have information that the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets has been working day and night, so we hope the deadline will be met.
What will be the difficulties for operators, given the conflicting and false information about the activity?
We hope that from January 1st the information will be clearer, even due to the robustness of the regulation. We have consolidated the legal framework with more than 240 pages of norms and legislation to regulate the market. The life of the operator from January 1st will be very different from what has happened so far, but everyone is prepared to face this challenge, which will not be easy, but they will face it with a lot of energy and we will succeed.
What is your assessment of the Supreme Federal Court's decision to ban advertising aimed at minors and the use of the Bolsa Família in betting?
We received this decision with great joy. After all the attacks, we expected some biased decision. But Minister Luiz Fux was very happy to call the public hearing to get to know the market. And as he got to know the sector, he formed his perception and saw that regulation has to happen and that it does not help to declare the law unconstitutional. When he made this decision to protect the bettor, the Brazilian and the Bolsa Família, it made us happy and confident that the Judiciary is integrated and aware that we need strong legislation.
The sector has long defended rules of compliance and responsible gaming and advertising. Were the measures in line with the sector's own discourse?
Exactly. That's why the public hearing was very important to reinforce our desire for tough and fair regulation. It already existed but nobody knew and perhaps the Judiciary didn't either. With the hearing, this came to light and the Judiciary felt comfortable with the information it received. What needs to be left is for the regulation to start having an effect. We told the STF ministers that we do not need a vote of unconstitutionality, but confidence that the regulation will work.
How to debunk for the whole society some factoids that have been disseminated, such as absurd expenses with Bolsa Família and that commerce is being harmed by bets?
The only way to show that this information is not true is what we are doing now. Bringing knowledge to the population so that everyone understands that this information does not match our sector. Producing more quality information and demonstrating that the research done without any criteria is not truthful.
Source: Exclusive GMB
