It is not news to anyone that sports betting houses have entered the market with force and today are official sponsors of at least 19 of the 20 teams in the Série A of the Brasileirão. This movement in the betting market in Brazil, however, is recent. There is confusion on the subject, making many people wonder: is it illegal to bet on sports in Brazil?
In December 2018, a decree was signed by then President Michel Temer (PMDB-SP) authorizing the operation of bookmakers in Brazil.
Law 13,756 established some rules for fixed-odds betting based on sports results. Four and a half years have passed and both companies and bettors created expectations for this market to be regulated. Unfortunately, this has not yet occurred in practice.
Now, the Executive Power has published the Provisional Measure defining part of the rules to which the activity will be submitted.
What is the expectation of bookmakers?
José Vasconcelos, head of marketing at B1Bet, says that the company has positive expectations regarding market regulation.
“I believe that the entire sports betting market has high expectations. B1Bet is fully committed to regulation and we will adapt all our resources to comply with the proposed law,” commentss B1Bet's CMO, José Vasconcelos.
“Today the market strives to pass on credibility and trust to consumers. Unfortunately, there is still a certain prejudice in relation to the betting market and I firmly believe that the regulation will change people's view; after all, this will increase the security not only of bettors but also of operators,” explains the company’s head of marketing.
Today's law determines that companies operating in Brazil must be headquartered in other countries and have no physical points of sale. This is why all bookmakers operate through websites hosted on international network domains, and follow the legislation of the country of origin.
There is still a lot of uncertainty, but everything is being discussed, and now the only alternative for bookmakers is to wait for legislation.
Source: GMB
