The Brazilian Senate has passed a bill to regulate sports betting in the country. While this does not mean sports betting has finalized its regulation, it is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The bill passed by the Senate outlines taxes and measures that will be placed on sports betting operators in the country. These will include ‘a 12% revenue tax for online betting companies and 15% on the winnings paid to gamblers’ and will require that operators purchase a license. Licenses to operate in Brazil were priced at BRL30m ($6m).
The Brazilian Government predicts earnings from these new regulated sports betting operators will bring in BRL1.65bn next year.
The report comes following a call in late October for operators to register their interest in operating in the country. Decree 1330 gave operators 30 days to do this and outlined certain qualifications an operator would need to be eligible, including the need for operators to have personnel in operational security, integrity and accounting.
“Brazil’s Ministry of Finance providing a legal solution for local and foreign operators to offer sports betting in Brazil shows a willingness to adapt and embrace a market that has clearly already garnered success. But, in an attempt to rebuild the dam, will the water still flow the same?”
Regulation and taxation have not yet been passed in Brazil. The bill must be passed by the lower house first before it is signed into law.