It was recently revealed that Brazil will officially debut a federal marketplace for sports wagering. In addition, when launched, it will involve modalities for the official management of online casino games.

Approval:

On December 21, at the last session of the Chamber of Deputies, legislation PL3626/23 was validated and will be sent to President Lula da Silva for federal signature.

However, on December 13, the same bill was sent back to the aforementioned Chamber of Deputies after an indecisive consideration by the Senate, which failed to resolve long-running debates over the maintenance of online casino games, which was opposed by Liberal Party senators. In addition, after sending the legislation back, the Senate excluded online casino modalities, requiring lawmakers to consider more than 100 modifications to the bill’s text since it was submitted for “legislative consideration of federal modalities by Senate committees.”

Throughout the aforementioned last voting session, Evangelical deputies partnered with the opposition to try to remove a provision related to online games. But, the attempt didn’t bear fruit, and the main reason this is that a large number of the total of 261 lawmakers formally cast their vote for the retention of online games, while just one hundred and twenty voted against.

In this regard, the Chambers’ camera reported: “The proposal approved by the Chamber reestablished, however, the authorization of betting for virtual online gaming events, the so-called online casinos, which had been removed from the text by the senators.”

Also, the aforementioned Evangelical deputies said that they would request from the President to eliminate casino modalities when legislation is sent for his federal signature. In addition, they are trying to redo the last events of last year, when Jair Bolsonaro, the previous president, rejected to officially sign sports wagering into law.

Budget, licensing and taxation:

The tax and fiscal structures suggested by the Brazilian Senate’s Economic Affairs Commission (CAE) have been kept. According to this arrangement, operators holding a license in the Brazilian federal market will have to pay a tax of 12% and the players’ rewards will be subject to a tax of 15%. In addition, from the total collected revenues, 2% will be set aside for social security. The tourism and sports sectors will get 5% and 6.63% of income, separately.

To obtain a federal license, operators are required to pay BRL 30m, which is roughly €5.5m, and it will be valid for the period of five years. Additionally, this specific license, permit the management of a maximum of 3 brands, according to the source.

Mandatory requirements for domestic and foreign businesses involve setting up a permanent presence in the country and naming the “legal guardian.”

As for wagering, it will be operated by firms approved by the Ministry of Finance, which meet certain conditions, involving a member from Brazil on their Board who owns a minimum of 20% of the share capital.

134 firms have shown interest in joining Brazil’s pending online gambling market:

Before the mentioned session, the Ministry notified that 134 firms submitted their “pre-market ordinance measures“ showing their desire in joining the pending online gambling market of Brazil. On a related note, the Ministry of Finance will supervise the management of the aforementioned federal sports wagering market and the Ministry will set up a dedicated watchdog for consumer protections, standards and conduct.

Furthermore, the final procedures have resulted in the Chambers agreeing obligations on sports integrity and advertising, whereby firms have to stress responsible gambling and involve warnings indicating its possible harm. In this regard, advertising that shows gambling as something attractive in today’s society is forbidden.

In order to protect the sports integrity, the bill forbids anyone younger than 18, anyone who has influence on gambling platforms or sporting events, those diagnosed with a gambling disorder as well as key sports personnel like coaches, agents, athletes, referees and directors from taking part in wagering activities.