The public hearing at the Finance and Taxation Commission, requested by Deputy Júnior Mano (PL-CE), is already on the Chamber's agenda and will take place on April 12, but the main actor has not yet confirmed his presence.
Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance, would speak about the regulation of sports betting, but so far he has not confirmed that he will be at the meeting.
For the time being, the presence of Wesley Cardia, CEO of the National Association of Gaming and Lotteries, André Gelfi, president of the Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming, Márcio Malta, CEO of Sorte Online, and lawyer Roberto Brasil Fernandes, are confirmed.
The representative of bet365, Teresa Caeiro, was invited, but will not attend, while the CFT awaits confirmation from Robinson Barreirinhas, special secretary of the Federal Revenue Service, and from Fernando Haddad himself.
In his justification for calling the public hearing and inviting Minister Fernando Haddad, Mano highlighted that “the big houses receive a high volume of bets and, consequently, a significant profit. Part of this profit is converted into sponsorship for the clubs and in return the bookmakers receive advertising and publicity for their brand. Most of the time, fans place their bets on the houses that sponsor their favorite teams. In this way, more profit is generated and more money to be invested in the development of the team. This is a profitable system for both parties, the team has more money to invest and the bookmaker gains more visibility and customers.”
“Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on March 1 that Brazil should tax sports betting. According to him, not charging taxes is an 'illegality' and allows currency evasion. Gambling on the internet is taxed all over the world. It can't be any different here."
Since the beginning of March, Minister Haddad has been saying that the Provisional Measure is practically ready and when launching the new rules of the fiscal framework, he once again stated that websites must establish themselves in Brazil and pay the due taxes.
"What we need to find is the optimal level of taxation, the level that makes the activity possible here and it remains illegal through websites around the world, but also that collects the maximum possible, enough to compensate for the externalities that are being imposed here in the country," he said.
"We need to regulate and tax because this negative externality is having an impact on the Brazilian economy," he added.
“We are going to regulate [internet gaming]. We readjust the IR table and this has a small loss of revenue, but it does. We are going to compensate with taxation on these electronic games that do not pay any taxes and take a fortune country," he said recently.
In an interview with Globonews he indicated that the government hopes to raise between R$12 and 15 billion a year from the activity. “It's not fair that you don't tax an activity that many people don't even agree exists in Brazil, but it's a reality in the virtual world. It [the revenue forecast] went up. We were working with up to R$ 6 billion, but it is at least double that. From R$12 billion to R$15 billion,” he concluded.
Source: GMB
