Although the news was already expected, the mood of betting executives and sector experts varied between indignation and desolation after a provisional measure signed this Friday (25) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) made them illegal. The argument is that the government sold, in the last two years, 85 grants, valid for five years, for betting exploration. Each one cost R$30 million.
The perplexity is because "it all ended in the stroke of a pen", as one executive defined it. They remember that the ban does not end the demand for betting, it will only shift resources to unsupervised platforms in tax havens.
"What is happening is unbelievable. The companies [in the segment] are serious. I am honestly very sad," said Fellipe Fraga, director of Business and Institutional Relations at Stellar Gaming. He claims that the decision to ban bets will generate "thousands of direct and indirect unemployed" and "push customers into the illegal market".
Stellar Gaming owns the EstrelaBet and Vupi brands. The company employs around 200 employees in the country.
The MP signed by Lula prohibits the operation of bets throughout the country, with immediate effect and a period of 120 days for voting in the National Congress. The ban covers sports betting and online casinos, including games like Tigrinho, and also provides for a bill with penalties for those who explore, operate or advertise betting.
The Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, stated that the provisional measure prevents new contributions to the platforms, keeping the sites only accessible for withdrawing amounts already deposited.
"It was Brazil that chose to regulate the betting market. Since then, companies have invested in the country, paid grants, hired professionals, structured compliance operations and started to operate under State supervision. This process created an environment of greater control and protection for bettors", said Ivan Dutra, CEO of LBBR, a group that operates brands Luck.bet, 1PRA1 and Start Bet.
Data from Comsefaz (National Committee of Finance Secretaries), released in August, show that Brazilians moved around R$350 billion in Pix transactions to bookmakers in 18 months. The losses were R$62.5 billion, represented by the difference between the money allocated to the platforms and what was returned in the form of prizes.
"Any measure that imposes restrictions on the regulated market should be preceded by an economic and legal impact study that transparently measures the indemnities and reimbursements eventually owed to agents who have already made investments and paid millions of reais in grants to operate regularly in the country. If the State subsequently restricts or makes unfeasible an activity for which it granted authorization through payment of the grant, it cannot ignore the financial consequences of this decision", notes Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire, legal consultant at ANJL (National Association of Games and Lotteries) and partner at Betlaw.
The government presents family debt as the central motivation for the measure. A survey by the CNC (National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism) shows that betting took R$143.8 billion out of commerce in the last two years. In March, 80.4% of families were in debt, a record in the CNC series, and the Central Bank recorded indebtedness of 49.9%, also a record.
Lula had already signaled his intention to ban the activity. In an event held in Guarulhos, on the 18th, he had said that the activity "is a disease" and that he would put an end to betting shops.
"The sector has contributed to the generation of jobs, tax revenue, investments in technology and the development of commercial partnerships in different areas of the economy. The public debate should be focused on how to make regulation increasingly efficient, and not on replacing a regulated market with a scenario that favors clandestinity", adds João Vitor Villas Boas, executive director of the SorteNaBet and Betou brands.
The measure was signed nine days before the first round of elections. Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) attacked the provisional decision, remembering that it was Lula himself who regulated the bets.
"The sports sector has recorded a positive financial impact with the advancement of the betting market. Historically, sports sponsorship depended on government incentives or companies with less marketing synergy, a scenario that later gave way to the entry of banks and fintechs. Betting platforms operate in direct engagement with the gaming ecosystem, which justifies the contribution of substantially larger investments in the very segment that generates its consumer audience", says Ricardo Magri, specialist in iGaming business development and executive director of EBAC (Empresa Brasileira de Compulsive Support).
