Brazil finance minister wants more taxation and stricter regulation to curb betting
Brazil Finance Minister Dario Durigan last week 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 assessed 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 have become dependent on betting companies. He assessed 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 noted.
He stated that the government was effective in tightening regulations. The minister dismissed the idea that the measures were 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 recognized that they had a presence in the Brazilian economy and had 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 assured 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, that motivated the refusal. He further stated that the 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 assured.