Brazil finally legalizes sports betting after years of failed attempts for expansion of the nation’s gambling industry
Sports betting is now officially legal in Brazil after the country’s outgoing President Michel Temer put his signature on a swiftly passed piece of legislation concerned with the legalization of the practice during a special event on Wednesday.
Provisional Measure 846/2018 (MP 846/2018) was introduced in its final form in early November. It took approximately three weeks for the piece to pass a Chamber of Deputies committee, the full Chamber, and the Senate.
The bill mostly contains provisions for the distribution of tax proceeds from the nation’s lottery, but it also includes measures that authorize the provision of online and land-based fixed odds betting services around Brazil.
Under MP 846/2018, the country’s Finance Ministry will now have two years to craft a regulatory system under which Brazil’s nascent sports betting market will be run. However, that two-year period could be extended by another two years, if lawmakers fail to roll out the required regulations.
The legislative piece says that sports betting in the country “shall be operated exclusively in a competitive environment”, but there have been suggestions that lawmakers might pursue a monopoly system.
MP 846/2018 was introduced in Brazil’s National Congress earlier this year, but its original form did not gain much traction as it called for lottery proceeds to be transferred only to public safety. That proposal did not appeal to President Temer which led to the piece’s revision to its final form, which distributes lottery money to sports and culture, as well.
Lottery Proceeds Allocation
As mentioned earlier, the allocation of funds from the nation’s lottery were the primary focus of the recently signed legislative piece. The nation’s public security, sports, and culture ministries will receive a share of tax collections from the provision of lottery services in the country under MP 486/2018.
According to projections by the federal government, the amount of R$1 billion could be allocated to public safety, of R$630 million to sports, and of R$412 million to culture. As for sports betting, 2.5% of tax revenue from its provision at land-based facilities and 1% of online betting tax revenue would be contributed to the National Public Security Fund
The Ministry of Culture will receive 2.91% of lottery tax revenue collections as from 2019, while the Ministry of Sports will receive 3.53% from next year.
The legalization of sports betting is an important step towards the liberalization of Brazil’s gambling market, but the country still seems to be away from allowing more gambling products on its territory. Lawmakers have been pressing for a wider gambling expansion that would include the legalization of the locally popular lottery-like game jogo do bicho, land-based casinos, and online gaming, but their efforts have seen little success. Several bills on the matter have remained stuck in the National Congress for years and it is yet to be seen whether the nation’s new President would favor the legalization of more forms of gambling.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
