Some discussions regarding certain business activities point out that Brazil remains stagnant in the 20th century. An example is electronic sports betting, on which it is important to bring the most recent historical context.
In the 1930s, there was considerable interest in promoting tourism in the country. President Getúlio Vargas supported the opening of casinos and released bets, the jogo do bicho and the like. However, in the ‘Estado Novo’, (New State) all bets, including sports, ended up being typified as a criminal misdemeanor by decree-law 3.688/1941.
On the other hand, to compensate for the new law, Vargas created a wide list of exceptions, including previously licensed gambling houses.
The definitive ban took place in 1946, with decree-law 9,215/1946. It is estimated that the ban generated more than 55 thousand unemployed, with the end of more than 70 establishments. The law was intended to prohibit misdemeanors that would not be serious enough to be classified among the crimes provided for in the Penal Code of 1940.
The betting ban is attributed to the will of President Eurico Gaspar Dutra's wife, Carmela Dutra, Dona Santinha. Very religious, she demanded that her husband forbid gambling. The fact is that, after almost 80 years, the Criminal Misdemeanors Act is still in force.
On sports betting, in December 2018, law 13,756/2018 came into force, which legalized its private commercial exploitation throughout the national territory. The law authorizes the lottery modality known as fixed-odds betting, for sporting events in general and similar, in which the bettor has a predictability of how much he can win or lose, according to his bet. Exactly what happens with sports betting.
The legalization of sports betting was celebrated by entrepreneurs from the most varied sectors, both Brazilian and international. To get an idea of the importance of regulation, in England, where the rules are the strictest in the world, revenue from sports betting reaches around R$27 billion (US$ 5.15b) a year, with a tax collection of more than R$4 billion (US$ 760m), according to UK Betting and Gaming Statistics. A study by Grand View Research predicts that by 2030, the global sports betting market will be worth more than $180 (US$ 34.35b) billion.
Here, after almost four years, despite the legalization of the activity, we are still without regulation.
The delay in organizing the sector brings harm to everyone, in addition to legal uncertainty for those interested in investing. The current scenario generates different interpretations of the rules and taxes levied, which will result in a series of lawsuits and questions about the regularity of operations.
The solution is simple: regulate and ensure compliance with Law 13,756/2018 within the legally prescribed period. Even because, obviously, the law could only be revoked in a new vote in the National Congress.
The federal government must provide for the regulation of sports betting, guaranteeing and legitimizing entrepreneurs who have been waiting for years to invest in an activity that is already so important in supporting Brazilian sports in various modalities.
It is necessary to regulate sports betting in Brazil. Without this regulation, all those interested in investing in the sector, society and the government lose. It is as if, on this subject, Brazil was in the 1940s, subject to the personal will of ‘Dona Santinha’.
Bernardo Cavalcanti Freire
Lawyer specializing in corporate law, partner at Wald, Antunes, Vita e Blattner Advogados
