Brazil is three years away from multi-state lotteries, says Paraná lottery chief
Current betting laws in Brazil restrict state lotteries in Brazil from collaborating on projects akin to the EuroMillions in Europe where local jurisdictions combine to form larger lottery jackpots.
However, Romanowski says Lottopar, alongside other state lotteries in Brazil, intend to challenge those laws in the Federal Court. He believes states have the right to collaborate to grow their betting offerings.
“The federal [government] cannot say what the states can do,” Romanowski tells iGB. “Basically they regulate the federal, we regulate the states.
“We have our own houses of law here, so I believe we can associate in the near future, in like two or three years.”
Precedent for state cooperation in Brazil
Romanowski highlights previous examples of Paraná and nearby states collaborating on projects, pointing to the Southern Regional Development Bank (BRDE), which was founded in 1961 by the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.
Romanowski says the BRDE is evidence of jurisdictions collaborating to enhance their competitiveness, especially against powerhouse states such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
“Parana could make just his bank for his people,” Romanowski continues. “But he united with other states and made up a bigger bank with more power, with more money to lend for the people, for our population.
“And I believe the lotteries are the same and we can associate ourselves.”
Huge advantages for smaller states
The nature of lotteries is the bigger the prize on offer, the more inclined people are to participate.
For smaller states, this could prove especially advantageous as their draws are typically smaller and they have access to less players.
Romanowski suggests a “South of Brazil Lottery” as a means of competing against much bigger states, such as São Paulo which boast populations far exceeding theirs.
“We have 11 million people, almost 12 million people in our state,” Romanowski explains. “But there are states that have like 700,000 people and they can associate with other states that size to [create] a better lottery, to make something that the population of their states is going to play with.
“We know that with the lottery, it’s more [about] imagining how your life is going to change if you win that prize. If there are smaller prizes, you’re not going to have that.”
Can Brazil replicate other global lotteries?
Romanowski cites the cases of EuroMillions in Europe and Mega Millions in the US as hugely successful cross-jurisdiction lotteries.
For him, a “BrazilianMillions” offering would prove hugely beneficial with three or four states combining to lure players in with big prizes.
“We probably can associate with Rio de Janeiro, with São Paulo and make one big lottery,” Romanowski adds. “It’s not a problem.
“EuroMillions, Mega Millions, Powerball, they all were created like that. So now they have the best lotteries. The bigger prizes in the world lottery are from them because they’re united, a lot of states.
“So, I think in the near future we are going to be on that.”
Ongoing conflict between states and federal government
The relationship between state lotteries and the federal government has been complicated of late, best exemplified by the Rio de Janeiro State Lottery’s (Loterj) failed attempts to license brands nationally throughout Brazil.
Loterj claims its state licence should allow authorised brands to offer bets across Brazil without a federal licence.
However, the government seems to have won that battle with the Supreme Federal Court last month voting to uphold a preliminary injunction which banned Loterj-licensed brands from offering bets beyond Rio de Janeiro state borders, while also mandating geolocation tracking to ensure compliance.