SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Loteria do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Loterj), the official organization that manages gambling in the Brazilian state, has begun the process to incorporate new gambling products within its portfolio.
An announcement made in the Official Gazette of Rio de Janeiro called for expressions of interest from sports betting and lottery operators seeking to take charge of the new verticals.
According to BNL Data, the tender is aimed at attracting companies that can create betting and lottery products for both online and brick and mortar. To be able to offer these products, including betting on sports events, they must demonstrate their distribution and marketing capacity.
Loterj will evaluate the companies’ proposals, as well as look at how they would execute their marketing campaigns and how they would brand their products. The license, which will be valid for 60 months, is worth approximately $50m.
After receiving the proposals, Loterj will launch the public tender process in the lowest “Overall Price” modality on July 5. According to the announcement, “the development of a technological platform, including the development of lottery control, payment and ecommerce functions through physical or digital tools, will be defined by Loterj”.
Furthermore, one of the requirements to operate sports betting and lottery products in Rio de Janeiro is that international companies must partner with a Brazilian entity. In addition, each member of the consortium must individually submit supporting documentation to show its ability to meet Loterj’s requirements.
Rio de Janeiro, along with Minas Gerais, is one of the first states to address sports betting operations and expanded gambling products. The move was prompted by a request made by state Deputy Alexandre Knoploch to authorize Loterj to operate the sports betting sector.
The project contemplates transferring the funds collected under the same system in which Loterj currently operates its lotteries while establishing that the revenue would be subject to income tax, as set by federal legislation.
“This bill is important as there is a growing number of gambling sites that, despite operating in Brazil, they do so illegally and have their data hosted in other countries, outside of the national jurisdiction,” said Knoploch.
Earlier this month, Loteria Mineira (LEMG) also announced that it would operate new lottery options including passive games, numerical lottery, sports prediction lottery, instant lottery and fixed-odds betting lottery (sports betting).
Currently, Intralot do Brasil Trade in Equipment and Computer Programs Ltda (Intralot), Thorsborg do Brasil Consultoria em Tecnología Ltda and International Gaming Technology Brasil Data Services (IGT) – Scientific Games Brasil Ltda are competing for the licenses that LEMG will grant to operate these games.
