Brazil online gambling is a step closer to reality after the country’s lower house – the Chamber of Deputies – approved the passage of Bill 3626/23 which would regulate sports betting and online gambling.
The Chamber of Deputies approved ‘opinion of plenary amendments to Bill 3,626’, submitted by policy rapporteur Adolfo Viana, a Deputy from the opposition Brazilian Social Democratic Party.
The next step for the Betting Regulation Bill before it is signed into law is to be approved by the Senate in a preceding final vote.
Viana’s submission included several amendments to ‘Provisional Measure 1182’ endorsed by President Lula Da Silva and the governing Workers Party, who in July submitted to Congress its favoured legislative policies to launch a regulated sports betting marketplace and provided no policy framework for regulating online casino.
The bill would usher in wagering on sporting events, including esports and online betting, but not fantasy sports. An 18 per cent tax rate on the net revenue of any online operator in the market is part of the bill as well.
Viana had proposed reducing the tax rate to 12 per cent, although it appears to have been rejected.
Tax revenue would be distributed across the Ministry of Education (1.82 per cent), the Brazilian sports ecosystem (6.63 per cent), tourism (5 per cent) and the cost and maintenance expenses of the fixed-odd betting lottery operating agent (82 per cent maximum).
Online casinos could be part of the gambling landscape in Brazil, as ‘online game events’ were mentioned in the document, but no details were provided about specific game types that will be allowed.
The document says: “VIII – online game: electronic channel that enables virtual betting in a game in which the result is determined by the outcome of a random future event, based on a random generator of numbers, symbols, figures or objects defined in the system of rules”.
To be issued by the Ministry of Finance, a three-year licence for gambling companies to operate in Brazil will cost R$30m (£4.93m), – in which companies must have a domiciled presence in Brazil to obtain a licence.
Foreign companies that do not have local operations at the time of application are excluded.
Operators must also meet a minimum of share capital, have at least one person with verifiable experience in the gaming industry, adopt internal policies to prevent money laundering and other illegal activities, submit data to the Financial Activities Control Council and meet responsible gaming and betting integrity standards.