Senate: Marco dos Games is ‘lame’, says association – 06/06/2023 – Mônica Bergamo

The vote on a bill that creates the legal framework for the games industry is causing a stir in the industry. Contrary to the current wording of the proposal, game developers claim that it creates a scenario of legal uncertainty, benefits a minority group of companies and could pave the way for an accelerated regulation of sports betting, currently in the crosshairs of the federal government.

The PL, authored by federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (União-SP), has already been approved by the Chamber and should have its report voted on by the Senate Economic Affairs Committee this Tuesday (6).

In the column, directors of Abragames (Brazilian Association of Electronic Games Developers) affirm that the expectation that the project could leverage the industry in the country was frustrated since some addenda were made to its text.

The points that most generate dissatisfaction relate to the definition of electronic games and fantasy games —which, in the conception of representatives of the entity, are confusing and too comprehensive.

According to the report to be presented to the Senate committee, electronic games would be “the part of computer programs with recreational purposes for use on cell phones, internet pages, computers and dedicated equipment, the so-called consoles, and their accessories”.

The definition is pointed out by developers as simplistic. “We really want to be recognized as an industry that is more than just one thing. This project kills that definition that we’ve been trying for a long time to achieve”, says Abragames’ vice president, Carolina Caravana.

“The games industry is cross-sectional, multidisciplinary. It’s not just software. In the process of creating a game, you don’t just need an artist, programmer and screenwriter, but also a software engineer, data scientist and even industry professionals. education, if it is an educational game”, he explains.

On the other hand, fantasy or fantasy sport games, which tend to be focused on the sporting universe and use real-life data to encourage competition between their players, as is the case of Cartola FC, is defined by the bill as “disputes in a virtual environment, based on the performance of athletes, who can receive awards based on their performance”.

It is in the latter case that developers are most frustrated, as well as the warning that there may be a release of sports betting without further discussion, as these games could contemplate this type of event.

“The framework needed to exist? Perhaps not like this. As the text is now, it does not contribute anything, only with fantasy sport companies”, says the president of Abragames, Rodrigo Terra, who says that the rapporteur of the bill in the Senate , Irajá (PSD-TO), has not heard the appeals of more than 150 developers associated with the entity.

“How is it that an industry that has more than 1,000 studios is not heard fully, to the detriment of five companies [de jogo de fantasia]?”, says Terra, suggesting that the proposal benefits a group of companies that are supposed to be a minority in the games market.

“We thought that the legal framework could solve several doubts in the areas of development, industry and commerce, and also in the cultural area, understanding that we are a convergent industry. That we could take a very important step towards the evolution of understanding of the sector’s strategic importance. But the PL, as it stands, is lame. It solves nothing and, in fact, favors this small group of companies that are highly resourced”, says the president of Abragames.

Sought by the column, Senator Irajá says, through his press office, that the bill for the Legal Framework for Games was widely debated with society in the Chamber of Deputies and is now also being discussed in the Federal Senate.

“Senator Irajá, rapporteur for the proposal in the House, presented a balanced text, the result of several suggestions he received not only from companies, but also from the federal government. The project started processing in October 2021. Therefore, it is not true that the project is being processed in an accelerated way”, says the note.

“It is also not true that society is not being heard. On 05/31, the directors of Abragames themselves were at the senator’s office in Brasilia and were received to contribute to the discussion”, he further states.

_{with BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS It is MANOELLA SMITH}

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