Brazil has been flooded with gambling licence applications, some companies even scrambling to get through the doorstep with submissions made right on the deadline date.
It is common knowledge that Brazil is gearing up for the launch of a nationwide regulated market, which when put to action is set to become one of the biggest global markets overnight.
For that reason alone, the great number of applications from potential future licence holders could’ve been foreseen months ago, although Brazilian regulators are now scratching their heads as the SIGAP registry with its 113-strong applicants still managed to catch them off guard.
Gambling dawn breaks in Brazil
In the last hours of 2023, just before the new year’s dawn broke, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva placed his signature under Law 14,790, which would become the ordinance that ultimately leads to regulating sports betting and online games in the country.
Since then, Brazil has accommodated swift changes across its top governance floors so that this vision can be brought into reality as quickly – and as effectively – as possible.
In the months that followed we saw the establishment of Brazil’s Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA), which was tasked with the regulatory supervision of the betting market.
The ultimate result of this decision was the creation of Brazil’s first technical framework for a federal online gambling market, exhausting every compliance detail around self-exclusion, AML, and advertising rules.
Elsewhere, another major development saw the implementation of a 15% tax on player winnings from betting, lotteries and online gambling. This initially became the focus of criticism from the country’s National Association of Games and Lotteries (ANJL) out of black market concerns.
Conclusively however, the 113 companies who are piling for a licence have found this to be of no reason for concern.
Frontrunners
On SIGAP’s website we can see that Greece-based Kaizen Gaming had wasted no time for discussions, standing right at the top of the list as the first company to have applied for a licence towards the end of this May.
The rest of the submissions date from this month, including those of some notable names such as Betfair, Stake, and Meridian Gaming.
What also grabs the attention is that all applicants appear to have a Brazil-registered office, which is of course in line with Brazil’s gambling regime framework that requires companies doing business in the country to have a physical entity there – either through a direct HQ or an acquired subsidiary.
Additionally, all participants in the Brazilian sports betting market will be required by law to be a member of an international integrity monitoring body, such as the IBIA.
While those 113 currently registered on the waiting list will get their submissions reviewed with a priority, Plínio Lemos Jorge, President of the ANJL, believes that there will be more companies applying for a licence until the end of the year.
“We are certain that next year we will have a completely different market. Honest, responsible and regulated, where bettors will be able to be sure that they are playing on a serious and safe platform,” Lemos Jorge said.
The current submissions are expected to be approved or rejected by mid-November, with the wider regulated market set to launch on 1 January, 2025.
However, given the amount of applications, these two deadlines remain subject to change. SBC News will continue to monitor the space and provide any updates as soon as they become available.