Games: legal framework advances in the Senate – 06/06/2023 – Tech

The Senate Economic Affairs Committee approved, this Tuesday (6), the report on the legal framework for electronic games, which aims to regulate the sector in the country.

The text still needs to pass, at least, through the plenary of the House. If there are changes in its content, it needs to go back to the Chamber of Deputies for a new appreciation – otherwise, it goes to the Presidency’s sanction.

The text approved this Tuesday establishes that electronic games may be used for therapeutic purposes, training for driving vehicles and simulating machine handling.

The project, authored by deputy Kim Kataguiri (União-SP), regulates the manufacture, import, sale and development of electronic games in the country. The rapporteur on the economic commission, senator Irajá (PSD-TO), only made a wording amendment to the text.

It included, in the scope of the legal framework, in addition to the “manufacture, importation, commercialization, development and provision of entertainment services”, as it was in the original text, also “the commercial use of electronic games”.

According to the senator, the adjustment aims to provide more security to the market.

“The commerce of games is not restricted to the acquisition of a license to use software, but also to the commercial use of brands associated with electronic games through licensing for their use in various other means, including the holding of tournaments”, he said, in your report.

As it is a drafting amendment (that is, an amendment that does not affect the merits of the project), the change does not oblige the text to return to the Chamber for a new analysis.

The text excludes slot machines and other games of chance from the definition of electronic games.

What does the text predict?

Fantasy games are those that take place in a virtual environment and cover the performance of athletes in real sporting events. The value of the prize should not depend on the number of participants or on the amount raised with the registration fee. Results also cannot be derived from the scores or activity of a single athlete or team in actual competition.

The indicative age classification of the games will be in charge of the State. The text also exempts from state authorization the development and exploitation of electronic and fantasy games.

The project allows the use and dissemination of data referring to results, statistics and mentions of names related to real sporting events in the development of fantasy games.

According to the proposal, electronic games can be used for entertainment, school activities with didactic purposes, according to the common national curriculum base, and for recreation.

It is also foreseen for therapeutic use and for training and simulations in driving vehicles, reacting to emergency situations, as well as handling machines and equipment.

The use of electronic games in schools, therapies and in training and simulation will be regulated by administrative authorities.

The text also changes the taxation of games. Companies that develop or produce electronic games will be entitled, until December 31, 2029, to financial credit arising from the minimum expenditure applied in these activities, an incentive provided for in the Information Technology Law. This financial credit on game development expenses may be used to deduct federal taxes.

The proposal also states that investment in the development of electronic games is considered investment in research, development and innovation.

This allows the company to take advantage of the incentives for technological innovation provided for in the Lei do Bem, such as a 50% reduction in the IPI (Tax on Industrialized Products) levied on equipment, machines, devices and instruments intended for research and technological development. The tax changes, if enacted, would only take effect on January 1, 2024.

The text says that the State will support the training of professionals for the games industry, by encouraging the creation of technical and higher education courses in programming focused on games, creating or supporting programming workshops focused on electronic games and encouraging the research, development and improvement of electronic games aimed at education.

According to the project, training and education courses can be done in person or at a distance.

The programmer and developer will not need a special qualification or state license to work in the area. In addition, the proposal states that, subject to labor legislation and the rights of children and adolescents, young people will be encouraged to program and develop electronic games.

Abragames, which brings together development companies, estimates that Brazil has 1,009 game development studios, according to a survey carried out in partnership with ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) released in July 2022.