MAR 26 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024 - 01:30hs.
From 2pm (Brasília)

Senate votes today on the regulation of sports betting and online gambling in Brazil

Bill 3626/2023, which regulates sports betting and online gambling in Brazil, goes to the Plenary, after being processed jointly by the CAE and the Sports Commission (CEsp). The Bill also changes the law that provides for the free distribution of prizes for the purpose of advertising (Law 5,768, of 1971) and the law that deals with the allocation of lottery revenue and the lottery modality of fixed-odd bets (Law 13,756, of 2018).

The project defines the fixed-odd betting lottery as a betting system that includes virtual online gaming events and real sports-themed events, such as football and volleyball games, for example.

Bets can be placed physically or virtually, and the authorization act will specify whether the operating agent can act in one or both modes. The authorization of public authorities is not required for fantasy sports, an electronic sport where disputes take place in a virtual environment based on the performance of real individuals.

The future regulation will require authorization from the Ministry of Finance, with a deadline of up to 5 years and the possibility of review at any time, ensuring the right to be heard and the full defense of the party involved.

Legal entities must comply with requirements such as: headquarters and administration in the national territory; proven knowledge of games and betting; compliance with cybersecurity requirements and internal control procedures; and money laundering prevention mechanisms.

In the report by Senator Angelo Coronel (PDS-BA) approved last week, it is also required that the company to be set up in Brazil must have 20% Brazilian capital.

The text also regulates the communication and advertising actions of betting systems, the fight against misleading advertising, the integrity of betting and penalties in case of violation of the rules.

According to the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies, 2% of the amount collected will go to social security. Other recipients of the resources will be the areas of sport (6.63%) and tourism (5%).

In sports, the amounts will be divided between the Ministry of Sports (4%), athletes (1.13%) and specific sports confederations, with percentages varying between 0.05% and 0.4%. Half a percent of the amount will be directed to state sports departments, which will have to distribute half to municipal sports departments, proportionally to the city's population.

In tourism, 4% will be allocated to the Ministry of Tourism and 1% will go to Embratur. Law 13,756, of 2018, which created this type of lottery, provided that companies would keep 95% of gross revenue (after prizes and income tax), while the project allows 82%.

Still according to the proposal, education will receive 1.82% of what is collected. Within this amount, 0.82 percentage points will be allocated to early childhood schools or primary and secondary schools that have achieved targets for national assessment results. The remainder (1%) will go to public secondary technical schools.

The leader of the opposition in the Senate, Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), has decided to release the bench in Wednesday's vote on proposals of interest to the Lula government in the economic field. The opposition is not expected to oppose the progress of the sports betting project. Therefore, each lawmaker will be free to vote as they prefer in the Plenary. The decision was made yesterday during a meeting of opposition members.

Source: GMB