Lula says ‘yes’
Brazil’s president will enact bill to legalize gambling if Congress approves it
Brazil: ‘Even though I disapprove of gambling, it should not be criminalized,’ says Lula.
In +Más: Lottopar calls for national regulations, 7777 gets Peru license.
Coljuegos seizes 225 items of illegal betting equipment.
Colombia: Copa América 2024 will boost sports betting by up to 40%.
Argentina: Survey finds 30% of online bettors in Santa Fe are 18 or younger.
I felt so good, everything was alright.
That’s all for now: LosIngresos+Mas will be taking a hiatus for the winter.
Brazil bill set for presidential approval
The man from Brazil, he says ‘yes’: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said that, although he is not in favor of it, he will enact Bill 2234/22 – which legalizes casinos and gambling in Brazil – provided the legislature approves the proposal. However, he considers this measure is not the ultimate solution for improving income and job creation in the country.
The bill has passed through several Senate committees, and the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) has taken more than a year to approve it.
As at the time of writing, the bill was pending approval in the Senate plenary before being presented for presidential sanction.
It has already received the green light from the Chamber of Deputies.
I don’t believe it: During an interview with Rádio Meio Norte in Teresina, Piauí state, Lula expressed his disapproval of gambling but added he does not believe it should be criminalized. “I do not believe in the idea that if there is a casino, the poor will spend all they have. The poor will not go to the casino; the poor will work in the casino,” he said.
“They may even see how their city develops, but they will not go because casinos are for people with money.”
Proponents of the law highlight the economic benefits, job creation and tourism boost in regions where casinos are established, in addition to increased tax revenue for the government.
While acknowledging these benefits, the president noted that “this will not solve Brazil’s problems.”
The proposal must now go to the Senate and depends on its president Rodrigo Pacheco to move forward. Until the vote in the Senate, the bill can receive amendments.
The new rapporteur will be appointed by Pacheco, but, in most cases, the parliamentarian appointed in the CCJ is retained in the plenary.
In this case, it should be Senator Irajá Silvestre.
Agree to disagree: If approved by the senators without modifications, PL 2234/22 will be sanctioned by President Lula. If there are amendments, the matter returns to the Chamber of Deputies for a single plenary vote to decide if they agree with the changes proposed. Whether they agree or not, the bill then goes directly to presidential approval.
After the presidential sanction of the law creating the Regulatory Framework for Gambling in Brazil, it will be necessary to issue the regulatory decree within 12 months.
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+Más
State of the nation: Lottopar has called for a national regulatory agenda for physical and online gambling and sports betting in Brazil. While a definitive legal framework has been under discussion, differences in regulations among states make it difficult to reach national agreements.
“Federal regulation will be beneficial for state lotteries,” said Lottopar CEO Daniel Romanowski.
Peru: Betsson has been granted iCasino and sports-betting licenses for its Betsafe and Betsson brands in the newly regulated market. The company said it also expects to gain approval for Inkabet, a locally licensed online betting and sports brand in Peru that it acquired in 2021.
Meanwhile, Mincetur has granted 7777 Gaming a license to supply its online casino gaming content to locally licensed operators. 7777 will operate under its Gaming Innovation OOD business entity.
At your service: The São Paulo state lottery service plans to install over 11,000 sales points throughout the region. The state is expected to raise around $625m from the concession, with these resources allocated to health services.
Argentina: Senator Beatriz Ávila has presented two bills aimed at restricting access, limiting advertising reach and warning about the risks of gambling addiction in online betting, especially among young people and children.
According to Avila, “a large part of the information provided by these betting platforms is misleading and opens the doors for kids to enter easily, attracted by the advice of influencers.”
She added that these platforms have “shown alarming growth in Argentina.”
Coljuegos seizures
I’ll take that: Coljuegos has seized 225 elements of games of chance and betting operating without authorization in the city of Cúcuta. The regulator’s president, Marco Emilio Hincapié, noted: “This is the first result of the legality pact we signed with the Government of Norte de Santander, the Mayor’s Office, the Cúcuta Lottery and legal operators.”
Of the total seized items, 215 were internet betting modules – including laptops, televisions, monitors, keyboards and ticket printers, among others – valued at ~$60k.
Authorities also removed nine electronic slot machines operating in clandestine casinos, along with an internal BDR-type recorder.
The operation also led to the provisional closure of 10 commercial establishments dedicated to operating games of chance illegally and proceedings were initiated against the administrators.
Charge me up: Operating illegal games in Colombia is a crime under Article 312 of the Penal Code. Moreover, those responsible could face other charges such as money laundering and illicit enrichment, as well as the possibility of facing a domain extinction process for the property where the illegal games were operated.
Colombia’s Copa América boost
The Messi effect: The Colombian Federation of Entrepreneurs of Games of Luck and Chance (Fecoljuegos) estimates an increase of between 30% and 40% in sports betting during the 2024 Copa América. Fecoljuegos president Evert Montero suggested the projected rise reflects both the enthusiasm of fans and the growing trust in regulated betting platforms in Colombia.
Up to April 2024, online betting in Colombia contributed almost 40% of the total resources allocated to health and scientific research.
Currently, 15 betting platforms operate under Coljuegos regulation in Colombia, Including Betsson.co, Codere.com.co, Fullreto.co.
Fecoljuegos recently reported that 93% of bets are returned to players in the form of prizes.
Argentine survey
Age old problem: In the province of Santa Fe in Argentina, 30.1% of bettors are 18 years old or younger, while nearly 60% are between 19 and 25 years old, a study by Demos Consulting has revealed. The survey sampled 409 people from Santa Fe and the La Capital department between June 7 and 15.
According to the research, more than 30% of respondents placed bets in the week before the survey and nearly 25% said they had bet in the past month.
The report – ‘Use of games and online betting platforms in the city of Santa Fe and the region’ – also revealed more than 75% of respondents placed their bets on casino apps, while only 9.9% used sports-betting websites and 8.3% games of chance.
Half of the players said they accessed these platforms through personal recommendations and 30.6% through social media. Only 14.9% said they discovered them through advertising.
The report also revealed that 21% of respondents were unaware of the pathological nature of online gambling; 16.6% said they needed more information, yet more than half acknowledged it is a serious problem.
One in 3 respondents (31.1%) said they knew someone in their close circle with gambling problems.
Good timing: These results were released just weeks before the online gambling regulation in the province is set to be approved and while the state is cracking down on illegal gambling.
Publication schedule
This is the English version of the LosIngresos+Mas newsletter published yesterday (June 26).
An +More Media publication.
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