The Rio de Janeiro State Lottery (Loterj) has announced that it has added regulations allowing it to oversee gambling in the Brazilian state, Yogonet reported September 4. The announcement leaves open the possibility that the state could accept operators from all over Brazil.
This has sparked the Brazilian federal government to threaten to take the issue to court. At issue is the regulation allowing operators from outside Rio de Janeiro, with the only proviso being that the wager must be placed within state boundaries.
Under the terms of regulations a license would cost BRL 5 million ($1,016,935), compared to BRL 30 million ($ 6,101,610) for a federal license. The state would tax gross gambling profits at 5 percent, compared to 18 percent by the federal government.
The Provision Measure governing sports betting is currently before the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and must be voted on within 120 days after it was introduced in July.
Meanwhile, international operator Playtech has released a report entitled Responsible Gambling: Consumer Insights and Trends in Latin America that found that 60 percent of those surveyed reported wagering online in the past six months.
Playtech surveyed 2,500 people across several Latin American nations. They were asked about their gambling habits and views on responsible gambling. The report was issued several weeks after Brazil legalized sports betting. That country’s Congress is still working on details of the new market.
The publication of the report prompted the Executive Secretariat of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance to comment that the need for responsible gaming measures, “is becoming more evident every day.” He continued that such regulations would “keep this sector up-to-date, innovative and focused on the gambler, in the face of the countless challenges which new technologies will pose to all of us executives of this unique industry.”
Brazil is not alone in regulating gaming and especially iGaming. In July Peru published draft regulations of iGaming. The survey found that 82 percent of Peru respondents had gambled in the last six months.
For Columbia that figure was 75 percent. However that country has already introduced a regulated online and sports betting market that has 17 operators and 8 million users.
In Chile 68 percent had gambled within the last six months. In Argentina that figure was 53 percent.
One interesting statistic from the survey is that 60 percent of Brazilians emphasize gambling on a legal website as a factor in responsible gaming. That compares to Columbia at 52 percent and Argentina, Chile and Peru which consider legality a low priority.
Chile’s Superintendent Of Gaming Casinos Vivien Villagrán Acuña finds this worrisome, said Yogonet. “For this reason, data that reflects the behavior and preferences of Chilean players is extremely valuable,” she said. “A better understanding of the market and consumers allows us to safely regulate this sector further, with proper regulation and corresponding collections for all.”
