Up to 600 betting sites onlinethe so-called bets, could be banned from Brazil in the coming days if they are irregular in relation to the legislation approved by the National Congress, said today (30) the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.
Site blocking must be done by the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel). “The first step will be to ban unregulated bets from the Brazilian space. There are around 500 or 600 betting sites that will go offline in the next few days, because Anatel will block access to these sites in the Brazilian space”, said the minister.
In an interview with CBN radio, the minister recommended that bettors withdraw their money immediately to avoid losses.
“If you have any money in the betting shop, ask for a refund now, because you have the right to have your money refunded. We are already warning everyone”, he warned.
During the interview, the minister also said that the government will curb the misuse of betting, limiting payment methods and regulating companies’ advertising. Furthermore, the ministry must monitor bets by CPF.
“We will follow CPF by CPF the evolution of the bet and the prize to avoid two things: those who bet a lot and win little are psychologically dependent on the game, and those who bet little and win a lot are generally laundering money. We have to curb the problem, the worsening of public health issues and the issue of organized crime that uses bet to launder money.”
In the case of betting advertising, the minister highlighted that it is “completely out of control” and that tomorrow (1st) he will meet with sector entities to discuss the matter.
“Just as there are regulations on smoking and alcoholic beverages, we have to have the same zeal in relation to games”, he stated.
Framework
During the interview, the minister highlighted that he is asking President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to keep government expenses within the fiscal framework.
“This is a very incisive concern of the Ministry of Finance. We are even asking the president to raise some questions again. For us, it is essential to keep expenses within the fiscal framework. For us, it is an important issue.”
“Nothing against thinking about a program [de governo]improve a program, but it has to be within the framework”, reinforced the minister. “The Treasury’s mantra is to reduce fiscal taxes and improve macroeconomic conditions for families and companies to invest.”
For Haddad, the fiscal framework is the “way to rebalance public accounts and continue growing with low inflation” and is extremely necessary. “If we deviate from this script, we will repeat the mistake of 2015 to 2022, when the economy did not grow and public spending soared. This period was not good for the Brazilian economy. We have to reverse the logic.”
According to the minister, the more fiscal rules are respected, the greater the space for the Central Bank to cut interest rates again.