OGS BRAZIL debates open up prospects of full gaming
“The regulation of sports betting in Brazil will serve as the basis for other games”
A series of debates during OGS Brazil 2018, last week in Sao Paolo, debated on the balance between market development and responsible gaming policies. Important topics for regulation were analysed, and it was also discussed how the existing market would look from now on. Marzia Turrini, Senior Vice President of New Business at BMM Test Labs, and Braulio Melo, Federal Police Delegate and Parliamentary Secretary in the Chamber of Deputies participated in the panel.
Melo, who is delegate of the Federal Police and Parliamentary Secretary in the House of Representatives, opened the debate and defended the creation of a regulatory agency for the supervision and promotion of the market: “The regulatory agency should be autonomous, effective and without political influence. And taxation should be compatible with other markets.”
Marzia Turrini, Senior Vice President of New Business at BMM Test Labs, closed the panel reminding that the exchange between Brazil and international regulatory experiences is fundamental. For Turrini, these are like test labs: “The government needs to make sure that labs are the first step, that is, learn from regulators and talk to people who have gone through that in other jurisdictions.”
On the matter of investment in advertising for gaming, online betting on football, and the importance of sports integrity several topics were discussed, with speakers that included Karen Marcela Sierra-Hughes, GLI’s Director of New Business and Government Relations for Latin America and the Caribbean; Alexandre Manoel, Secretary of Fiscal and Lottery Finance (Sefel) of the Ministry of Finance; and Mario Costa, Director of Relations of the Union of professional athletes state of São Paulo.
Sierra-Hughes talked about gaming and advertising, and especially about integrity criteria: “If you take as an example the UK, 8% of all advertisement made there is used for gaming. It’s a lot, and you have to have all the rules in place. And there is also an important point: integrity. In Colombia, which has regulated the online gaming sector a short time ago, has also regulated integrity. Without this, data may appear wrong and affect the results, in a way to harm the player and the credibility of the game, and in order that teams have no benefit, it’s also important to create regulatory agencies that monitor integrity.”
Alexandre Manoel, Secretary of fiscal monitoring of Energy and Lottery (Sefel) of the Ministry of Finance, focused his speech on the issue of the recent approval of PM 846, which passed in the House of Senate and now awaits sanction or veto of the Government. Manoel, said that, the PM846 “will open the discussion for the regulation of other gambling options in Brazil.”
