SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
September is poised to be the make-or-break month for the passage of Brazil’s desired federal sports betting marketplace, as pressure mounts on the government to settle final terms.
Yesterday, Arthur Lira, President of the Chamber of Deputies, declared that a Bill to launch and regulate Brazil’s sports betting market must be presented by 9 September.
The matter carries a ‘constitutional urgency’ as Lira seeks to clear the Chamber of Deputies voting schedule heading into the final months of 2023.
As stands, the government is yet to publish its final Bill, as Deputies continue to summon responses to Congress on the package of ‘provisional measures’ endorsed by President Lula da Silva on 25 July.
Under review by Congress, the final text and framework of a federal bill are yet to be made public. The provisional measures outlined by the PT (Workers) government are to account on key criteria such as betting integrity, consumer rights, safer gambling protections and advertising standards.
Signed-off by President Lula, the government’s modalities prioritised adopting an 18% tax on the gross income of licensed operators and a 30% tax on player winnings above BRL 2,112 (€440).
However, Congress notified that it had received over 200 amendments from Deputies, primarily demanding the government to rethink its controversial tax framework.
Recognised as the main power-broker of Brazil’s legislature, Lira seeks to force the government to show its final hand on its plans to launch a federal sports betting regime.
Lira has demanded that a ‘formal text’ be published by 9 September, in which the government must present a finalised bill to be voted on by the close of 2023. The intervention by the House Leader will see Congress shorten its review of the provisional measures to a 45-day window (previously 120 days).
Aware of shortcomings in the legislation of its desired bill, the government currently awaits amendments on sports betting advertising to be drafted by the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (CONAR).
Further interventions saw Lira deny an extension to the CPI Parliamentary Commission investigating match-fixing and corruption within Brazilian football leagues.
As such, the Commission has been ordered to submit its report on betting integrity and football corruption by 28 September, as recommendations will not feature in the make-up of a federal sports betting framework.
