Brazil's national gaming association ANJL has filed a formal protest after President Lula convened a Tuesday meeting on the social impact of online sports betting without inviting any representatives from the licensed industry.
The session included health, culture and economic organisations, religious institutions and civil groups, many of which had publicly criticised the betting sector, according to ANJL. No licensed operator attended. The government also excluded the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA), the finance ministry unit that regulates the sector and holds technical data on legal operators and black-market enforcement.
ANJL president Plínio Lemos Jorge said discussing betting's effects requires input from those working inside the regulated system. The betting law passed Congress after public debate; ANJL helped design protective measures alongside SPA covering problem gambling prevention, credit controls, minor access restrictions, responsible advertising and operator oversight. Those measures separate licensed operators from illegal ones, and tightening rules works better when built on data from those applying them.
The association pointed to inconsistencies between some social-impact data presented at the meeting and official statistics, arguing such gaps are easier to identify when both sides participate. ANJL noted the regulated sector's contribution through jobs, investment in sports, culture, telecoms and media, and tax revenue. The organisation will request a follow-up meeting with industry participation, insisting that full dialogue accounting for real problems and existing safeguards better serves government goals.
