Free wants to ban celebrities from advertising gambling. Government rejects

ANDthese divergent positions were presented by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, and by the deputy of Livre Paulo Muacho, soon at the opening of a current debate on game regulation and online betting. A debate marked by the Free, which presented a legislative package, but which has the opposition of the majority parliamentary right.

“ All indicators show that the number of players is growing significantly, with more than 100,000 citizens presenting risk behaviors. More than a problem of economy or market regulation, this is a public health problem ", defended Paulo Muacho.

Following this intervention, PSD, Aquira and CDS recognized the need to adopt measures for children and citizens more vulnerable to the phenomenon of the game, stressed the importance of combating illegal gambling, but refused “prohibitionism” or “moralism” of the Free.

Daniel Teixeira, do Cávez, even accused the Free of “hypocrisy”, and the parliamentary leader of the CDS, Paulo Nuncio, drew lines of demarcation against “the paternalism of the left” in this matter.

In his speech, the Secretary of State for Tourism acknowledged that the universe of players has increased over the past few years, which, in his view, “reflects the absorption of the illegal market by the legal market.

Pedro Machado said that the highest percentage of players is in the age range of 25 to 34 and defended the thesis that “the growth of the regulated market is not synonymous with dependence or addition to the game”.

“ The trust that the national market generates is associated with the existence of a strong regulation and control exercised on licensed operators, to whom various obligations are imposed, with particular focus on the responsible game and the protection of players. It is therefore important to prevent access to the game by minors, persons legally prevented from playing and self-excluded players, as well as making self-exclusion mechanisms available to players ", opposed the executive member.

The parliamentary leader of the PCP, Paula Santos, considered the existence of a state policy in relation to gambling essential, with an effective response from the National Health Service in the field of mental health, and a strengthening of public structures in the control of this phenomenon.

The PS, through Nuno Fazenda, said that its party has seven measures to deepen regulation and protection against the game ‘online’, defending balance rather than prohibition. “Neither prohibitionism nor liberalisation,” the socialist deputy Armando Mourisco summarized.

In turn, JPP Member Filipe Sousa warned of the social scourges caused by the game, and Left Block Member Andreia Galvão said that she supported the measures proposed by the Free.

In all of the proposals presented by Livre, it is argued that “who gets a net gain through online gambling and betting should contribute according to the same tax justice rules applied to those who obtain income through work, pension, savings or investment.

It also aims to strengthen the Institute for Additive Behaviors and Dependencies and the National Health Service in the treatment of this dependency.

In relation to betting advertising, the Free again proposes limits, establishing that ads should be socially responsible, “safeguarding the protection of public health and, in particular, the protection of minors and other vulnerable or risky groups”, without “glorification of the game”, messages of easy gains or “disappreciation for those who do not play” or do not participate in this type of activities.

The Free also wants to ban public figures or digital influencers from being able to advertise such games and, on the other hand, forcing establishments to communicate warnings about the potential of addition and legal minimum age to play, as with tobacco.

In its legislative package, this party also wants to allow players to exclude themselves from all licensed online gaming platforms at once, and not one by one, that it is possible to impose time limits or money to bet, and to prevent the award of bonuses by bookmakers.

When it comes to the sale of lottery tickets and instant lottery tickets (better known as “scrapers”) in health places, the Livre bench wants to prohibit it. It recommends that the government carry out a national campaign to raise awareness of the risks of adding to the game.