Federal deputy Paulinho da Força (Solidariedade-SP), who presides over the party, fired at the Ministry of Finance this Monday (11) claiming that the department “only thinks about money, only thinks about collecting money”. The criticism was made during a public hearing on the Bets Law led by Minister Luiz Fux, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
The criticism was made with the allegation that the government should create a specific regulatory agency to supervise the so-called “bets” – online betting platforms – due to social risks such as people’s addiction to gambling.
“Brazil has to create a regulatory agency, it has to take it from the Ministry of Finance, the ministry only thinks about money, it only thinks about collecting money, that’s why there’s all this confusion”, he said.
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Among the problems that should be monitored by a new regulatory agency is the use of Bolsa Família for betting, in which a recent study by LCA Consultoria Econômica, based on data from the Central Bank, showed that R$210 million was spent on betting alone in the month of August.
Paulinho also criticized the aggressive advertising of bets, which sponsor the biggest football clubs in the country, encouraging addiction. He classified them as a “dragon” that “will continue to eat the poorest people’s money every day”.
“If we don’t stop this ‘dragon’, he will continue eating the money of the poorest people in Brazil every day. Spending R$3 billion from those who receive Bolsa Família or the BPC and these companies don’t pay a cent in tax, you are taking tax money from Brazilians and taking it out of the country”, declared the deputy.
The hearing was motivated by a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality presented by the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism, which questions the law responsible for regulation.
Deputy Paulinho highlighted that, despite being a historical supporter of the legalization of bingos and casinos, he considers that betting has had a negative impact on the country.
“Do you know how many employees bets have in Brazil? Zero. Do you know how much tax they paid during this entire period? Not a penny. These companies are outside Brazil. What they collected from poor people was to take out of the country, they did not pay a cent in tax”, he pointed out.
Minister Macaé Evaristo, of Human Rights, also participated in the hearing and warned about the addictive effect of betting and the impact on Brazilian families, comparing them to casinos.
“The difficulties of our country, still in development, people’s desire for a better future, often the lack of economic prospects, end up being fertile ground for desperate and sad bets on games”, he added.
