José Francisco Manssur was the guest on CNN Esportes S/A this Sunday (13), where he discussed the changes with the new regulation of sports betting and online gaming. In the program, the former advisor to the Ministry of Finance highlighted measures against manipulation of results, addiction, and inappropriate advertising.
Since 2023, the sports betting market has been undergoing regulation in Brazil and, for José Francisco Manssur, lawyer and former special advisor to the Ministry of Finance, with a role in the regulation of bets, this movement is fundamental. Invited to CNN Esportes S/A this Sunday (13), Manssur explained the importance of this regulation.
“It was a process carried out throughout the year 2023. It is important to highlight that in 2018 a law was already approved allowing sports betting in the Brazilian legal system. […]. It is important to say that regulation gives the opportunity for the State to create policies for each of the issues. Without regulation, companies would not even be in Brazil, the sites would not be in Brazil. So if someone made any fraudulent, misleading, or underage-targeted advertising, the government had no way to control it,” he stated.
Manipulation of results
According to the lawyer, regulation can inhibit a series of problems, such as manipulation of results.
“With the authorization and regulation, companies will have to report in real time every bet that is happening at each authorized operator. Then it is possible for the government, in this case the Ministry of Finance along with the Ministry of Sports, to monitor if there is a deviation.”
“When you identify an out-of-the-ordinary bet, for example, 500 thousand reais on a yellow card in Serie B, or in a state championship in Acre, it has to draw attention, it's a disproportionate amount. Then you have to bring in the Artificial Intelligence technology of the companies we have today, which can do this type of behavior assessment, with data crossing,” he explains.
“Then you create a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is the most remote suspicion, and 5 is practically the proof. When it hits level 3, you issue a notice to all operators to remove that game from the card. Then you work on prevention. If the thing continues to happen, you send it to the Public Ministry, send it to the Police, the data that there is manipulation,” Manssur concluded, detailing the step-by-step of how the operation should be developed in these cases.
Addiction and advertising
Another problem that arose with the increase in sports betting in Brazil was also the growth of gambling addiction. According to Manssur, combating addiction was a priority during the regulation.
“This aspect of combating addiction is a fundamental priority, and we must never neglect that there are people who are becoming addicted. There are a series of tools in the legislation itself that I find fundamental. […] First: advertising should never convey to the bettor the idea that they will get rich by betting. You don't get rich by betting,” he emphasized.
Manssur also highlighted that the regulation prohibits advertising aimed at children and notes that psychological assistance and support from the SUS are provided when betting houses detect atypical behavior from a bettor.
Source: CNN
