Brazil Finance Minister Dario Durigan says betting growth has gone too far and needs tougher control. He wants higher taxation, tighter advertising rules and stronger regulation, rather than a full ban that could feed illegal gambling.
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Brazil could take a harder line on sports betting and online gambling as the federal government reviews how far the legal market should go. Durigan told UOL News that betting now affects more than tax policy, with household spending and public harm also part of the debate.
“We need to treat bets the same way we treat cigarettes. As it is bad for health [and] it is bad for Brazilians’ pockets, we have to tighten regulations”, he decreed in an interview with UOL News.
The minister also recalled that President Lula had previously supported a ban on betting. Durigan took a different route, though. He said prohibition could create another problem by sending players to illegal betting sites.
“I fear that a general ban will lead to an illicit market,” he stated.
Durigan said Brazil needs more control over gambling advertising, better rules for licensed betting companies and a tax model that reflects the size of the sector. His comments come as Brazil continues to shape one of the largest regulated betting markets in Latin America.
Durigan said some parts of Brazil now rely too heavily on betting money. He also said earlier governments gave betting companies too much room inside the national economy before proper controls were in place.
“It’s not enough for these companies to enter the country and not obey Brazilian rules,” he noted.
The finance minister rejected the idea that the government targets betting tax only to raise public revenue. He said taxation forms part of a wider effort to make operators contribute after becoming active in Brazil.
“Betting companies pay taxes not because the government wants to collect revenue, but because we recognized that they had a presence in the Brazilian economy and had to start contributing to the country,” he said
Durigan also said enforcement must stay strict to stop illegal gambling from growing alongside the licensed market. In his view, Brazil needs firm regulation, not loose access dressed up as market growth.
Questions around access to betting company records also came up during the interview. Durigan denied any lack of openness in the regulation of the sector.
“There is no secrecy whatsoever,” Durigan assured regarding the regulation of the sector.
He said one Freedom of Information Act request was rejected because fulfilling it would have required the release of personal data. Instead, the ministry plans a broader disclosure process for cases that already passed through the department.
“What I asked is that, instead of receiving individual requests, they take all the cases that have already passed through the department, do one task at a time, we ask the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) to support us, and we will proactively disclose the data,” he assured.