The entity refuted the figures released last week regarding the amounts of bets made by social plan beneficiaries and the size of the betting market in Brazil.
Brazil.- The National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) issued a statement pointing out "serious errors" in the Central Bank's study on the spending of Bolsa Família social plan beneficiaries on online betting. According to the entity, this group spent, at most, R$ 450m (USD 82m) in one month, a value much lower than the R$ 3,000m (USD 549m) reported by the Central Bank last week.
The ANJL also pointed out what it considers an error of R$ 8,000m (USD 1.464m) in the Central Bank's survey on the size of the betting market and a mistaken assessment of the profile and income of bettors.
"Contrary to what the note published by the Central Bank suggests, the beneficiaries of the Bolsa Familia Program do not spend a significant portion of the income transfer on online betting," the ANJL reports. The amount would be less than what is paid in taxes. "If other forms of taxes are considered, the federal government collects much more from sports betting than what the beneficiaries spend," the note expands.
Since its publication, the Central Bank's data has provoked a federal government and congressional offensive against the sector. Moreover, other calculations show that, among the Bolsa Familia bettors mentioned by the Central Bank, there is a group that made very high bets, incompatible with the income limit to participate in the social program.
"It is reiterated the importance of the Central Bank bringing to light the data and information on which its technical note was based. After all, as has been shown, there are several indications that there may have been some error in the data collection or in the definition of the premises adopted in the study. Without the opening of the data by the Central Bank, with all due respect, the technical note should be analyzed as a hypothetical study, which cannot support changes in the sector, especially because, as demonstrated, the figures are much lower than those speculated by the Central Bank," emphasized the ANJL.
In addition to expressing their opposition to the Central Bank's report, from the ANJL they highlighted the fact that all the companies associated with the entity are part of the list of companies that submitted their application to operate from December in Brazil. In this way, the companies met the requirements of the Ordinance 1.475 and will also be able to continue operating between October and December of this year. According to them, the complete adherence of the member companies to the regulatory provisions highlights their commitment to the regulation of the sector in the country and to responsible gaming.
See also: In Brazil, a Working Group is created to prevent social plan beneficiaries from using that money in betting
