The matter has been going on in the House for a long time and has required several discussions and publications of amendments that range from the percentage of taxation that these companies must pay, as well as the rules for marketing and advertising communication actions.
The proposal will still have to be approved in a new vote in the Chamber, something that should be done in the coming weeks.
In general terms, the Commission approved a 12% tax on betting companies and 15% on the prizes that will be paid to bettors.
Furthermore, the project determines that the betting company has its headquarters in Brazil and that it submits a series of documents to the competent bodies to authorize its operations.
Betting company advertising
One of the themes that permeated the CAE discussions was the advertising and marketing activities of the operators.
In July, the government published a provisional measure that regulated the activities of companies in the sports betting segment. In this text, it was determined that the Ministry of Finance, together with Conar, would have the role of creating a type of code of ethics for campaigns and advertising actions by betting companies.
The main concern expressed by the government is that advertising from betting companies could encourage gambling compulsion. Ways to protect younger audiences from approaches that could link betting to making money easily were also discussed.
Rules for advertising betting companies and controversies with clubs
The advertising issue generated several amendments to the project, which even proposed more severe restrictions on the display of betting house messages in the media.
An amendment that generated the most controversy was number 38, which called for the suspension of any advertising broadcast by betting companies from 6am until 11pm, in any media.
The same amendment included another determination that generated protest from Brazilian football clubs: the prohibition of bookmakers sponsoring teams or athletes.
Together, more than 30 clubs in the country released a letter in which they point out that the measure would bring financial losses to the sport.
This and other more restrictive measures, however, were changed and removed from the final proposal. In general, the Commission pointed out that the segment needs to define ethical standards in its regulation, but that the best way to do this is to encourage self-regulation.
The project determines that the Ministry of Finance prepares the set of rules and ethical standards that advertising messages from betting houses must have.
“The regulations must address aspects such as warnings discouraging gambling, warnings about the harm of gambling, awareness actions, codes of conduct and restrictions on advertising to avoid targeting minors,” says the project.
Regarding the restriction proposed in amendment 38, the Commission considered that the rule could conflict with constitutional principles. “We understand that the suggested restrictions are broad and may conflict with the constitutional principle of free enterprise and freedom to contract,” explains the text.
The project also defines the participation of individual athletes in advertising messages. Although the commission sees the intention of such an amendment as meritorious, they chose to reject it on the understanding that such a measure better fits the regulation of the advertising sector itself or the Ministry of Finance.
Source: medium & message
