As Brazil slowly navigates its way towards a fully legalised gambling sector, the debate continues as to how it will regulate operators and ensure that gambling remains fair, transparent and crime free. Emphasising those issues at the recent Brazilian Gaming Congress was Fabio Ferreira Kujawski, a partner at specialist law firm Mattos Filho Advogados.
Speaking on the first day of the event, as part of a panel dedicated to discussing the creation of a regulatory agency for gambling, he urged policy makers to take into account the need to maintain absolute independence in setting up such a body. “There should be independence and no political interference when it comes to choosing the main decision makers who will form a regulatory agency,” he said.
He added: “The reality of the situation in Brazil is that we need to separate political influence from the decision making process. A regulatory agency (for gambling) needs to be shielded from political pressure. It will also need financial autonomy – a proper budget to carry out its work. We lack the funds to do that right now.”
Talking about the accountability of those who will eventually regulate he stressed that policy and decisions should be goal driven and not made on a ‘top down’ basis. “It’s a huge challenge,” he noted, “but let’s hope that the two bills continue to make their way through parliament.”
