A total of 217 positions were created in the folder – the result of a rearrangement of vacancies on the Esplanada –, of which 65 should be directed to the betting area, according to sources from the economic team. The new structure will be responsible for analyzing documents for approving the accreditation of operators in the country, as well as for monitoring the volume of transactions and collection.
The government's forecast is to raise up to R$ 12 billion (US$ 2.5b) per year with the taxation of this activity, which is currently not regulated, and with the recreation of Lotex, an instant lottery known as "raspadinha” (scratch card). The amount will enter into the accounting of the government's revenues for meeting the targets established in the new fiscal framework.
A PM proposal to regulate these sports betting was released by the Treasury last May. The text, however, was shelved for two months due to the clash between the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), and of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), over the processing of the Provisional Measures in Congress .
According to news outlet Estadão, the former Executive Secretary of Finance and now director of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, was scheduled to talk to Lira and negotiate an exit. The economic team was in a hurry and preferred the PM model, which takes effect as soon as it is edited and then has 120 days to be analyzed by parliamentarians.
The president of the Chamber, on the other hand, defended that the rules were discussed via a bill, which would give greater leadership to the deputies – this is because the Bills always start to be processed by the Chamber.
The solution found was a compromise: edit an PM with the most urgent items of the regulation and a bill with the more organizational part of the new action, which involves, in addition to taxation, actions to curb the manipulation of results. The texts, according to sources, are already in the Secretariat of Legal Affairs of the Civil House and should be published in the Official Gazette (in the case of the PM) or sent to Congress (in the case of the bill) in the coming days.
Within the Civil House, the assessment is that the matter, finally, must be unlocked. The expectation is that President Lula's return to Brazil is expected, scheduled for this Wednesday (19) night. He should only return to dispatch, therefore, on Thursday (20).
According to the agreement closed by Finance, the text of the PM must bring the rules of what will be considered legal and illegal in sports betting and the sanctions that will be imposed in case of non-compliance, as well as the rules of taxation. The Bill, on the other hand, would bring the most general concepts of the proposal and would detail the attributions of the ministries.
The expectation of the economic team is that the texts move in parallel within Congress and that the Bill proceeds on an urgent basis - that means that it does not need to go through committees and lock the agenda after 45 days, which would speed up the discussion. Interlocutors from the Treasury hope that the regulation will be approved by the middle of September, which would make it possible to start collecting.
How will the taxation of sports betting work?
Under the new rules, an online sports betting company can only operate in Brazil if it is accredited by the federal government. For this, it will have to pay a grant to the Union in the amount of R$ 30 million (US$ 6.25m), have headquarters in Brazil and minimum capital of R$ 100 thousand (US$ 20,800).
The taxation of companies will work as follows: 16% on the so-called GGR (gross gaming revenue). That is: on the income obtained from the games, minus the prizes paid to players.
Players will pay a 30% Income Tax rate on the prize, but with exemption for amounts up to R$ 2,112 (US$ 440).
The collection generated by the 16% levied on operators will be divided as follows:
The proposal also foresees a series of rules to prevent illegalities in the sector, such as, for example, the prohibition for players, referees, managers and minors under 18 to place bets.
Source: Estadão
