Last week, Brazil Finance Minister Dario Durigan said the growth of betting companies bothered him and he sought higher taxation and more restrictions on advertising.
Recalling that President Lula had previously advocated for a ban on betting, the minister underlined the need to improve regulation, increase taxation and restrict advertising to control the expansion of betting in Brazil. “I fear that a general ban will lead to an illicit market,” he stated.
“We need to treat bets the same way we treat cigarettes. As it is bad for health [and] it is bad for Brazilians’ pockets, we have to tighten regulations”, he decreed in an interview with UOL News.
Companies must comply with Brazilian rules
Durigan emphasised that certain sectors of the economy have become dependent on betting companies. He noted that previous governments in Brazil gave significant weight to betting companies in the national economy. “It’s not enough for these companies to enter the country and not obey Brazilian rules,” he said.
He continued by stating that the government had been effective in tightening regulations. The minister dismissed the idea that the measures had been taken to increase revenue, but rather to regulate a sector.
“Betting companies pay taxes not because the government wants to collect revenue, but because we recognise that they have a presence in the Brazilian economy and have to start contributing to the country,” he said.
Betting as a social problem
According to the minister, it is necessary to be “very tough” on the regulation of betting companies to inhibit the growth of the illicit market.
“There is no secrecy whatsoever,” Durigan said, regarding the regulation of the sector. When questioned about the refusal of a Freedom of Information Act request concerning data on betting companies, the minister explained that the request would require the presentation of personal data and it was this that motivated the refusal. He reiterated that issues are handled with complete transparency.
“What I asked is that, instead of receiving individual requests, they take all the cases that have already passed through the department, do one task at a time. We ask the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) to support us and we will proactively disclose the data,” he stressed.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/legal-compliance/brazil-finance-minister-betting-more-taxation-interview/
