ABRAJOGO condemns the absence of the regulated sector at the meeting in the Presidential Palace and calls for a technical, pluralistic, and representative debate.

The Brazilian Association of International Gaming Operators and Providers – ABRAJOGO repudiates the absence of representatives from the regulated market at the meeting held by the Federal Government, last Tuesday (1st), to discuss the impacts of electronic betting on Brazilian society.

At the meeting, held at the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva brought together representatives from religious entities, the productive sector, the health and cultural sectors, as well as organizations linked to consumer protection. Despite the breadth of the agenda and its potential repercussions for the market, no representative entity from the regulated sector participated in the discussion.

For ABRAJOGO, a debate of this importance, especially when it can inform decisions and public policies with a direct impact on consumers, companies, workers, and the entire economic chain linked to betting, needs to be built with plurality, transparency, official data, and the participation of the agents directly involved.

The absence of authorized companies and their representative entities prevented the presentation of data, clarifications, and technical information about the functioning of the regulated market and the measures implemented since the beginning of federal regulation. Also noteworthy is the absence of the Secretariat of Prizes and Betting of the Ministry of Finance, the body responsible for the authorization, regulation, monitoring, and oversight of companies operating legally in the country.

ABRAJOGO recognizes the importance and legitimacy of discussions related to indebtedness, risky behaviors associated with betting, the protection of vulnerable groups, responsible advertising, and consumer safety. However, issues of this complexity cannot be analyzed from a single perspective, nor without an objective distinction between authorized companies and platforms that operate illegally in Brazil.

Since the implementation of the regulated federal market, authorized companies have been required to comply with a broad framework of legal, fiscal, technical, and operational obligations, including user identification, self-exclusion mechanisms, system certification, anti-money laundering measures, monitoring of risky behaviors, advertising rules, and consumer protection measures.

These safeguards represent a fundamental difference between the authorized market and clandestine platforms. In the illegal environment, the same obligations, control mechanisms, state oversight, or protective instruments required of authorized companies do not exist. Weakening this distinction could have the opposite effect to that intended, favoring operations that operate outside the rules established by the State.

ABRAJOGO also considers it essential that discussions about the impacts of betting on women include effective female representation, including professionals, experts, and leaders working in the sector. Women occupy strategic positions in areas such as law, technology, compliance, fraud prevention, communication, customer service, payments, and management, contributing directly to the construction and improvement of the regulated Brazilian market.

The Association advocates that any improvement to public policies or the current framework should be built democratically, with the participation of the Prizes and Betting Secretariat, other competent public bodies, experts, representatives of civil society, and the authorized sector.

The debate about betting is legitimate and necessary. Precisely because of its relevance, it cannot be one-sided.

Protecting consumers, preventing risky behaviors, strengthening responsible advertising, and combating illegality require data, oversight, dialogue, and institutional cooperation. Excluding agents subject to rules established by the State itself compromises the plurality of the discussion and reduces the capacity to build effective solutions.

In this regard, ABRAJOGO expresses its interest in being included, as a representative entity of the regulated sector, in future debates and discussions on the subject, contributing in a technical, transparent and responsible manner to the improvement of the Brazilian regulated market.